Ambae volcano

Director of Adventist Education for the Vanuatu Mission Gilrick Joshua said the students from Penama Adventist College (PAC) would remain at Aore Adventist Academy until the end of the school year to avoid disturbing their studies.

The students’ parents, who were relocated to the neighboring islands of Pentecost and Santo, returned to Ambae over the past week in a move facilitated by the Vanuatu Government.

Vanuatu's Geohazards Department raised the official alert threat from level three to four as an eruption on Ambae island continues to intensify. The alert levels range from 0 to 5 - level five is a very large eruption.

The National Disaster Management Office along with a team from the Geohazards department left early Sunday morning for Ambae.

On Saturday, authorities were preparing to evacuate as many as 5,000 people from one side of the island to the other as the volcano belches ash across much of the island.

The organisation through social media informed the public that the volcano has been at level three for the last few weeks but yesterday it erupted.

“The Provincial Disaster committee and Red Cross branch officers and the Penama Red Cross Emergency Response Team (ERT) Volunteers have already deployed to south and West Ambae to advocate on preparedness. They (are) also trying to conduct an evacuation plan once every team who has been deployed returns with their situation report.”