SYDNEY - A volcano in Papua New Guinea is spewing lava and ash into the sky, as residents flee and flights are diverted.
Mount Tavurvur, in the town of Rabaul in East New Britain province, erupted at 3 a.m. on Friday morning local time.
The PNG Post Courier reported residents heard a loud rumbling followed by the sight of ash spewing into the air.
As residents living near the volcano evacuate from the area, people in surrounding towns have been advised to stay indoors.
Amazing photos of the eruption are flooding Twitter, as the plume reportedly stretches 18 kilometers into the air.
Incredible images coming out of #Tavurvur this am - wishes of safety to all in #PNG http://t.co/hRSk5Ztbdh http://ift.tt/1qm7cU2
- Elizabeth Feeney (@libfeeney) August 28, 2014
Mt #Tavurvur #volcanoe has erupted this morning in Rabaul, #PNG. First major eruption after 20 years. http://ift.tt/1sLVthh
- Hubert Namani (@hhnamani) August 28, 2014
More images appearing online of Mt Tavurvur erupting. #Rabaul #PNG #volcanowatch http://ift.tt/1qm7fPx
- Martyn A Namorong (@Mangiwantok) August 28, 2014
Mt Tavurvur erupted this morning#EastNewBritianProvince#PNG http://ift.tt/1qm7fPH
- Rosebuds (@tongamp_g) August 29, 2014
Australian airline Qantas has diverted flights away from the affected area. Virgin and Jetstar are operating as normal.
'Flight paths between Sydney and Narita and Sydney and Shanghai have been altered as a result of the volcanic ash cloud over Rabaul in eastern Papua New Guinea,' a spokesperson said. 'The QF21, QF22 and QF130 will now fly over central Papua New Guinea to avoid the cloud.'
Flight QF21 and QF22 are flying from Sydney to Tokyo while QF130 flies from Shanghai to Sydney. The new flight paths will only impact flight times by approximately 10 minutes.
Known as the most active volcano in Rabaul caldera, Mount Tavurvur erupted with Mount Vulcan in 1994, devastating the nearby Rabaul township and killing five people. The most devastating eruption was in 1937, when the two volcanoes also erupted simultaneously and killed 507 people.
Have something to add to this story? Share it in the comments. Entities 0 Name: SYDNEY Count: 5 1 Name: Rabaul Count: 5 2 Name: Papua New Guinea Count: 3 3 Name: Mount Tavurvur Count: 2 4 Name: Shanghai Count: 2 5 Name: Tavurvur Count: 2 6 Name: East New Britain Count: 1 7 Name: Tokyo Count: 1 8 Name: Narita Count: 1 9 Name: Martyn Count: 1 10 Name: Qantas Count: 1 11 Name: PNG Post Courier Count: 1 12 Name: Elizabeth Feeney Count: 1 13 Name: Jetstar Count: 1 14 Name: Hubert Namani Count: 1 15 Name: Mount Vulcan Count: 1 Related 0 Url: http://ift.tt/XVb1WZ Title: Iceland examines volcano 'cauldrons' Description: Scientists in Iceland say they are examining several 'cauldrons' found near Bardarbunga volcano, which could potentially be a sign of an eruption. The cauldrons, depressions in the volcano's surface, each between 10-15m (49 ft) deep and 1km (0.6 miles) wide, were seen during a flight on Wednesday.
