Hundreds flee Vanuatu volcano

Last Updated: Fri, 27 Nov 2009 10:08:00 +1100

More than 300 people are being evacuated from villages near a Vanuatu volcano which is spewing ash and gas into the air.

Authorities say the western half of Gaua island is in danger, so the people from that area will have to leave for their own safety.

The volcano has been getting steadily more active since last month.

Authorities say the volcano may continue to be active for weeks, so cannot predict when villagers can return home.

But Efline Garaebiti, head of the Vanuatu government disaster monitoring team, told Radio Australia it is unlikely the mountain will erupt completely.

AFP news agency reports the Red Cross is providing water containers and purification tablets for the villagers, who have been affected by respiratory problems and diarrhoea caused by the volcano's pungent sulphur fumes.

Evacuees will have to stay away from their villages until the volcano subsides, he said.

Gaua, about 3,000 metres high, has erupted 13 times since 1963, tourism officials say.

Vanuatu is on the Pacific "Ring of Fire", where the clash of continental plates causes high volcanic and seismic activity.