Ambae Island volcano

Ash from the Manaro volcano blocked out the sun Wednesday, leading 1000 locals to apply to be moved off the island.

NDMO research and planning officer Zoe Ayong said arrangements were being made to ship people to the nearby island of Maewo.

"The condition is not safe in a few areas of Ambae, especially in the Southern part of Ambae where thick ash fall is recorded and even clarity or visibility is very poor," Ms Ayong said.

Locals have reported much of the east and north of the island experienced heavy ashfall after the eruption from the Manaro volcano intensified on Monday.

Since September, the volcanic activity has fluctuated, sparking evacuations on two occasions to nearby islands.

Disaster Management Coordinator Augustine Garae said the unpredictable nature of the volcano and the possibility of further evacuations meant the Red Cross had to wait to get to Ambae.

Due to the ongoing eruption of Ambae's Manaro volcano, some of the island's communities relocated to neighbouring islands of Maewo and Santo.

This includes hundreds of students whose schools were affected by volcanic ash fall which has also destroyed much of Ambae's vegetation.

However since last month concerns have mounted about the living conditions the children were placed in.

It said while the volcano remains in a major state of unrest, the observations from May confirm that heightened activity between March and April has now dropped.

The agency said there were no current explosions and the volcanic cloud had become white in colour indicating more steam and less ash.

The presence of ash on Ambae from the recent eruptions will continue to change the behaviour of streams and creeks during heavy rain with the potential for flooding as waterways carry more debris.

Ambae's volcano has been erupting since September, but activity increased in April with ash and acid rain ruining crops and contaminating water supplies.

The Daily Post newspaper reports the National Disaster Management Office as saying disaster assistance will wind up for the island at the end of July.

Those who relocate to Maewo will receive government assistance until the end of the year, to help them establish new gardens and crops.

Most villagers on the northern island of Ambae had only recently returned home. The 11,000 people on the island were forced to leave last September when the Manaro volcano erupted.

The latest evacuation is not compulsory but the government said it wants those who left to stay away for good and resettle elsewhere.

The Council of Ministers has approved 4 permanent settlements on the nearby island of Maewo, which it will lease from landowners.

The government will organize and pay for the evacuation beginning June 1 and finishing July 30.

The aid will directly benefit up to 5 000 people in some of the worst-hit areas in southern and eastern parts of Ambae Island, including Santo, Maewo, and Pentecost.

The Vanuatu Geohazards Department last week upgraded the danger level of the Manaro Voui crater to alert level 3 signifying an escalating eruption event.

Disaster authorities are now considering a mass evacuation of people from the southern and northwestern parts of the island which have been worst affected by heavy ashfall.

An Ambae community leader on the nearby island of Espiritu Santo, Nadia Kanegai, has been helping with the relocation of people and organising relief supplies.

The volcano had forced the compulsory evacuation of the island's 11,000 people last December.

Speaking from his village in West Ambae, Chief Zacchaeus said all the crops they have planted on their return after the evacuation have been ruined and the environment looks as if a cyclone has passed through.

He said all drinking water in wells and tanks is covered, and roof tops are covered in ash and pebbles.

He also said the biggest problem is food for their goats and cattle as the grass is covered in ash.

A retired policeman from Ambae Wilson Garae says owners of private homes and churches community centres on Pentecost, Maewo and Santo paid for electricity to host the thousands of evacuees.

Mr Garae says it is only right that out of the evacuation fund of nearly $US 2 million, the government gives something in return as a gesture of gratitude.

He says he understands the Ministry of Climate Change still has a balance of half a million dollars of the emergency fund.