Police at Lata in the Temotu Province are monitoring the situation in the province after the Tinakula volcano erupted on Saturday 21 October with the wind carrying ash to the nearby islands.
“Police successfully rescued three people from Tinakula after receiving a report in the early hours of Saturday that the volcano had erupted. The three people were reported to have gone to the island, which is uninhabited, to visit their gardens and pigs,” says Provincial Police Commander, Temotu Province, Frank Menesa.
“Another team consisting of police and agriculture officers visited the island again on Monday 23 October basically to monitor the volcano and check on the 30-strong population on the nearby island of Niupani requesting them to take precautions,” says PPC Menesa.
Authorities in Lata are continuing to monitor the situation and have advised people on Santa Cruz and the Reef Islands to be careful as the islands’ drinking water has been affected by the ash from the volcano.