Papua New Guinea has started evacuating people from three islands off the north coast of the country's mainland due to increased volcanic activity.
The provincial government of East Sepik ordered the evacuation of around 3,000 villagers on Biem Island after volcanic activity intensified on Sunday, Radio New Zealand said.
Tremors and plumes reported from Biem follow the first eruption in recorded history of nearby Kadovar Island earlier this month.
The Australian government said it is providing tarpaulins and water containers to assist PNG manage the evacuations.
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Kadovar's 700 residents were evacuated by authorities last week to nearby Ruprup Island.
But authorities said those on Ruprup were also at risk as volcanic activity intensifies and would now be taken to the mainland by the PNG defence force and fishing boats.
Allan Bird, the governor of East Sepik, said the advice he had from experts was that Biem Island was "a time bomb."
"We don't know how much time we have, and we just need to get the people off," he told Australian broadcaster ABC.
PNG's Prime Minister Peter O'Neill said in a statement late on Sunday that he had authorised the use of the defence force to evacuate those at risk.
"We will not take risks with human lives, let's get people out of harm's way now," he said.
O'Neill also warned coastal communities in the area to be on alert for the risk of a tsunami resulting from tremors.
