Papua New Guinea Volcanic Eruption Sends 6-Mile Plume of Ash Into Sky

SYDNEY, Australia — A volcano in Papua New Guinea rumbled on yesterday after sending a plume of ash 6 miles into the air and blowing out windows in the nearest town.

Ash, steam, and lava poured from Mount Tavurvur following an eruption that forced 2,000 people to evacuate their homes on the island of New Britain.

In 1994, Mount Tavurvur and its twin, Vulcan, erupted in even more spectacular fashion, turning the town of Rabaul, renowned as one of the prettiest in the South Pacific, into a modern-day Pompeii.The town is now mostly abandoned.

Memories of that eruption were revived when Mount Tavurvur started spewing ash and lava on Saturday.

"It was terrifying," Susie Alexander, who runs the Rabaul Hotel, said. Ms. Alexander's hotel is built over tunnels dug by the Japanese army during the World War II. "We're only about 4 miles from the volcano, so we could hear all the sonic booms. It was very unsettling. But the wind has changed now, so it's taking a lot of the ash away. Now, it's just a regular kind of eruption, with the volcano making big rumbling sounds as if it's a hungry bear."

Her husband, Bruce, said being so close to the eruption was "like being directly underneath an artillery barrage."

Steve Sanders, from the Volcano Observatory in Rabaul, said shock waves from the explosions were powerful enough to shatter the observatory's windows.

No reported injuries were reported, and people were returning to their homes after taking refuge in Kokopo, 12 miles away. It became the new provincial capital after Rabaul was destroyed.

Papua New Guinea lies on the Pacific ocean's "ring of fire." Earthquakes and volcanic eruptions are common.