More than 7,000 people have been moved to emergency shelters in Vanuatu as a volcano in the south Pacific Ocean archipelago threatens to erupt, government officials say.

Vanuatu, a cluster of more than 80 islands and 260,000 people, declared a state of emergency on Tuesday following signs the volcano – known as Monaro – is becoming increasingly active.

It is the second volcano to have caused an alert in the Asia-Pacific region at present.

More than 57,000 people have fled a volcano on the Indonesian island of Bali amid fears of an imminent eruption.

Thousands flee as Vanuatu volcano verges on eruption | Vanuatu News | Al Jazeera

Jeezus…