Papua New Guinea cancels flights, plans evacuation after volcano erupts

A volcanic eruption on a remote island of Papua New Guinea has pushed some residents to begin evacuating and the island's airport to cancel flights. Ulawun, the South Pacific nation's most active volcano, spewed smoke up to 15km (9.3 miles) in the air on Monday afternoon, the country's Geohazards Management Division said, in its first significant blow-up in years. The eruption on New Britain island prompted officials to coordinate evacuation plans and cancel fights at the region's Hoskins airport. The ash plume continued to rise on Tuesday, reaching at least 5km (3.1 miles), but the country's geological hazard division downgraded its alert level from Level 4 to Level 3 – indicating a "moderate to strong eruption" rather than a "very strong eruption". Still, the volcano remained active and the outburst could continue indefinitely, the division said.