Volcano

United States weather officials on Guam issued a special weather update on Sunday about the "haze plume" that is expected to continue moving westward through the Federated States of Micronesia.

Hawaii residents refer to the haze caused by volcanic eruptions on the Big Island as "vog," a phenomenon now being experienced in the Marshall Islands, more than 2,300 miles to the southwest of the Hawaiian Islands.

The volcano in Hawaii is now in its fourth week of continuous eruptions.

People on Big Island are preparing for the worst as officials urge communities in high risk areas to be ready to evacuate at a moment's notice.

Kilauea's official volcano threat was raised from orange to red over the past two days, as the summit's crater showed signs that a more violent eruption could follow.

Civil defense is urging locals to remain vigilant and heed warnings, with people being informed about designated evacuation centres.

Thousands of people have already evacuated their homes after the eruption destroyed around 30 structures in the past two weeks.

The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory said a new fissure had spewed lava up to 70 metres into the air and new cracks had opened on a highway about 19 kilometres from where the Kilauea volcano erupted on Friday.

The southeast corner of the Big Island was rocked by a 6.9 tremor on Saturday, and more earthquakes and eruptions are expected.

State officials said the lava eruptions are far from tourist areas, and is business as usual on the rest of the island.

Kilauea, one of the world's most active volcanoes, has been in constant eruption for 35 years.

The evacuations followed a volcanic eruption on the island which has covered it in ash.

The newspaper The National reported the minister responsible for National Disaster Management, Kevin Isifu, saying previous reports of the island having only 700 people was based on eligible voters in the electoral roll.

Kadovar's population was moved to neighbouring islands, but Mr Isifu said there was a plan to permanently resettle them on the mainland in East Sepik.

Spewing steam and sending tremors through the area, the volcano's alert status was raised to the highest level last week.

Since then, tens of thousands of villagers have been urged to abandon their homes beneath the menacing volcano.

The national disaster management agency has housed evacuees in tents, school gyms, and government buildings in neighbouring villages.

While there are plentiful stocks of food, water, medicines, and other supplies, evacuees fear they are in for a long wait that could disrupt their livelihoods.

The crew, along with a number of tourists, were drawn to Etna in Sicily to observe the spectacle of the active volcano erupting but were caught by surprise when flowing magma hit thick snow, causing an explosion that caused rock and other material to rain down upon them.

Volcanic rocks and steam from the eruption injured at least 10 people, witnesses and media reported, and the network's science reporter who was on assignment on Etna, Rebecca Morelle, described the experience in a series of tweets.

The surrounding jungles, especially the leaves on trees are all covered in volcanic ash.

Drinking water has also gone scarce due to little creeks being covered in ash, and permanent houses were forced to remove the rain gutters away from tanks, because the roof tops are all covered in ash too.

Head of Red Cross mission on Bougainville Stanley Hasagoni told PNG Loop that it wasn’t that too bad but they have to be prepared in future because it is predicted the worst could come.

The eruption Monday prompted authorities to raise the alert level for the area, banning people from approaching within 2 kilometers (1.25 miles) of the volcano's mouth.

There are no homes within that area and there were no immediate reports of injuries or damage.

The Japan Meteorological Agency said the eruption fired bits of volcanic rock, smoke and steam flying. It was unclear if there was any volcanic flow from the mountain.

The volcano which dominates the island erupted two weeks ago but the island's residents are yet to receive any aid.

World Vision says at least a thousand Manam Islanders who were living close to the volcano have been evacuated to Bogia on the mainland but several thousand people remain on the island.

The Madang area programme manager Reuben Lulug says his team on the ground has reported back to the head office in Port Moresby but help is yet to arrive.