Authorities in Vanuatu today, Wednesday, warned ships and planes not to approach the area of the eruption of an underwater volcano after it began spewing ash into the sky.
A “danger zone” with a radius of 10 km has been identified around the underwater volcano “East Ebi”, which is located 68 km from the capital Port Vila.
Following reports of smoke over the site, the dormant volcano erupted up to 100 meters of ash in the early hours of Wednesday.
According to the local meteorological department, volcanic activity began shortly before 8:00 am (21:00 GMT on Tuesday).
Witness Philip Dick told AFP that the ground began to shake even before smoke appeared over the scene.
“Then the explosions started… and the surrounding villages still smell of sulfur,” he added.
Officials have raised the volcano’s alert level to level one, meaning “minor violations” on a scale of one to five.
Authorities have asked locals on the neighboring islands of Ibe and Tongoa to avoid the coast for fear that “the current volcanic eruptions could trigger a potential tsunami.”
She noted that the Alaska Tsunami Warning Center has not yet recorded any activity in the Vanuatu region, but “such volcanic eruptions can cause a tsunami.”
Vanuatu was hit by a magnitude 7 earthquake in early January off the largest island, Espiritu Santo, in the north of the archipelago.
Vanuatu is located in the Ring of Fire region in the Pacific Ocean, where seismic and volcanic events often occur.
