Vanuatu National Disaster Management Office is working with police to help evacuate people, who are reluctant to leave their villages, in the high risk areas of the Monaro volcano.
NDMO Operations Manager, Peter Korissa says they hope to evacuate all the residents in the north and south of Ambae Island before the end of the week.
The volcano has been rumbling for weeks, but its activity increased rapidly on Saturday, when it started belching ash across much of the island, blanketing villages and crops in the north and south.
Authorities have been using limited local vessels to move people from north and south Amabae to the east and west sides of the island.
The Vanuatu Council of Ministers was briefed about the situation on Ambae yesterday after a team from NDMO conducted an aerial survey of the island.
Korrisa told RNZ the evacuees are sheltering in schools and community halls.
Photo by NDMO. Caption: Aerial survey of Monaro volcano