PNG's Ulawun blows again

8:34 pm on 6 August 2019
Temporary shelters at Bakada care centre for people displaced by the Mt Ulawun volcano

Temporary shelters at Bakada care centre for people displaced by the Mt Ulawun volcano Photo: Peter Murorera / IOM

There's been another burst of activity at Papua New Guinea's Mt Ulawun volcano.

Over the weekend, the Rabaul Volcano Observatory sent out an alert about increased seismicity and a large ash cloud from Ulawun in West New Britain province.

The Volcanic Ash Advisory Center in Darwin also warned about an ash plume estimated to have risen up to almost 14 kilometres high.

Ulawun had another major eruption in June, blanketing New Britain's northern coast in thick ash, killing crops and contaminating water supplies.

Although it quickly settled down, 15,000 people promptly fled the area.

Last week, the International Organisation of Migration said that around 8,000 people remained displaced and living in temporary shelters.