Ground shaking on Vanuatu’s Ambae Island has become near-constant and officials warn the threat from the Manaro Voui volcano is escalating, with emergency teams on the ground and plans for a possible full evacuation now being prepared. The island’s roughly 11,000 residents face increasing disruption as ash, toxic gases and corrosive acid rain damage crops, contaminate water supplies and batter homes, authorities said.
The Vanuatu Meteorology and Geo‑Hazards Department has kept the island at alert level three — signifying a “minor eruption” confined to the volcano’s crater lake — but has warned that activity could intensify. A three‑kilometre no‑go zone remains in place around the volcano’s active vent. Officials from the National Disaster Management Office (NDMO) are currently assessing the worst‑affected areas to identify disaster zones; if the alert level is raised to four, cabinet‑approved emergency plans call for the entire island population to be evacuated.
Director of the meteorology and geo‑hazards department Levu Antfalo said the volcano is emitting ash and toxic gas and the fallout has already spread beyond Ambae. “It burns their crops, pretty much anything that it gets in contact with, water as well,” Antfalo said, noting acid rain has affected neighbouring islands including Santo, Malakula, Pentecost and Ambrym. Authorities say the corrosive fallout has destroyed food gardens in some communities, raising concern about food security across the region.
Prime Minister Jotham Napat chaired an emergency meeting as volcanic activity intensified, and the Council of Ministers has approved VUV20 million (about USD170,000) to fund emergency assessments. Penama Province — which covers Ambae — is drawing up evacuation plans and officials say they are preparing for all scenarios as monitoring continues. Climate Change Minister Ralph Regenvanu told residents that, while no mandatory evacuation had yet been ordered, those in the most severely affected areas are being encouraged to relocate to less affected parts of the island where possible.
The volcanic plume has produced ash columns reaching as high as 15,000 feet (about 4.6 kilometres), prompting aviation warnings across the region and raising the risk of flight disruptions. Local people report the eruption’s noise is intense enough to cause ear pain and make normal conversation difficult. “When people are speaking, you can’t hear the other person talking. It is causing ear pain because it is very loud and heavy,” one relative of residents on East Ambae said.
With the NDMO team assessing damage on the ground and provincial evacuation plans being drawn up, authorities are emphasising the need for rapid response if the situation deteriorates. For many families with limited options, moving within the island offers little refuge, and officials acknowledge the strain on communities already coping with contaminated water and crop losses. The government’s emergency funding and the deployment of assessment teams mark the latest escalation in response as monitoring agencies watch for any rise to alert level four that would trigger a mandatory, island‑wide evacuation.
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