PAPUA NEW GUINEA, Jan 14 (Reuters): About 1,500 people are being evacuated from an island off the northern coast of Papua New Guinea (PNG) after a nearby volcano erupted, the local Red Cross said on Sunday.
A volcano on the island of Kadovar, located about 24 km (15 miles) north of the Papuan mainland, began erupting on Jan 5. That prompted the evacuation of 590 people on Kadovar to the nearby island of Blup Blup.
After venting ash for several days, the volcano exploded on Friday, blasting out glowing red rocks and sulphur dioxide, the Rabaul Volcanological Observatory said in a bulletin. The PNG government then decided to evacuate Blup Blup as well because of issues with supplying people on the island along with the danger from the eruption.
The evacuees are being moved to the mainland and the International Red Cross is providing about 87,000 kina ($26,274) in funding to help them, said PNG Red Cross Secretary General Uvenama Rova by telephone from the capital of Port Moresby.
A Xinhua report adds: Philippine authorities have ordered more than 900 families to evacuate as Mayon volcano continues to spew ash on Sunday.
Romina Marasigan, the spokesperson of the Philippine National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), said on Sunday that 919 families have been so far subjected to "mandatory evacuation" by local officials due to the "abnormal activities" of the volcano.
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