August 25, 2018 Eruption of Manam

Manam Volcano, on an island off the coast of Madang province in northern Papua New Guinea, erupted early in the morning of 25 August. Lava and ash are affecting nine of 13 villages on the island, which has a population of about 7,000 people. As of 28 August, two of these villages, Dangale (239 people) and Kolang (143 people), have been evacuated to unaffected locations on the island.

Kolang (population 143) have 70 Completely destroyed households and now residing at Madauri village. Dangale (population 239) have 94 completely destroyed households and now residing at Zogari village.

Manam is one of the most active volcanoes in PNG. The island is 10km wide and roughly 15km from the mainland in the Madang province. The most recent eruption occurred at about 6:00 am on Saturday, 25 August, emitting lava, thick mud and ash that affected many villages and forced two villages to relocate to unaffected areas on the island. No lives were lost, but many houses and food gardens have been destroyed. Since the volcanic activity in 2004, most of Manam’s original residents continue to live on the mainland in care centres waiting to be resettled by the government. Some had returned to the island voluntarily and have again been affected by the active volcano. Although recent population figures for the island are not available, the government estimates that more than 7,000 people, including the population of Manam and the smaller neighbouring island of Boisa, have been affected. The difference in the impact on Dangale and Kolang compared to the other affected villages was that they were destroyed by lava flow. Heavy ash, thick mud and lava have also caused extensive damage to vegetation and food gardens and contaminated water sources in several parts of the island.

(all above from reference #12223)