THE ground shakes constantly on Vanuatu’s Ambae Island, and for the 11,000 people living there the threat from the Manaro Voui volcano is growing louder by the hour.
Authorities are racing against time as the volcano continues to emit ash and toxic gas, with officials warning that a full evacuation could be ordered at any moment.
The Vanuatu Meteorology and Geo-Hazards Department has maintained an alert level of three, meaning a “minor eruption” is underway with activity confined to the lake within the volcano’s crater. A three-kilometre no-go zone remains in place around the active vent.
A team from the National Disaster Management Office is currently on the ground assessing the most affected areas so they can be declared disaster zones. If the alert level rises to four, the entire island population will be forced to evacuate under emergency plans already approved by the cabinet.
But for many residents, the situation is already severe.
Acid rain from volcanic emissions is burning crops, contaminating water supplies, and damaging homes. The Vanuatu Meteorology and Geo-Hazards Department confirmed the corrosive fallout has now spread beyond Ambae, reaching the islands of Santo, Malakula, Pentecost, and Ambrym, destroying food gardens and threatening regional food security.
“It burns their crops, pretty much anything that it gets in contact with, water as well,” the department’s director Levu Antfalo said.
Climate Change Minister Ralph Regenvanu said a mandatory evacuation had not been ordered, but residents in the worst-hit areas were encouraged to move to less affected parts of the island if they did not feel safe.
The Council of Ministers has approved $VUV20 million ($USD170,000) for emergency assessments.
For families with nowhere else to go, that advice offers little comfort.
Local residents say the volcano’s roar is so loud it causes ear pain and disrupts normal conversation.
“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 man with relatives on East Ambae said.
Ash plumes have been reaching up to 15,000 feet (approximately 4.6 kilometres), prompting aviation warnings across the region.
On Friday, Prime Minister Jotham Napat chaired an emergency meeting as volcanic activity intensified, with officials confirming that Penama Province is preparing evacuation plans.
Authorities say they are preparing for all scenarios.
But for those living in the shadow of the volcano, uncertainty remains.
“The mountain speaks, and we must listen. But where do we go when the whole island is suffering?” a village elder said.
