The first batch of hundreds of islanders were taken off the island by container boat in the morning, an official coordinating the evacuation told AFP from the remote community of Bogia, where the islanders are to be taken.

"It is on its way to Bogia," disaster relief official John Bivi said, when asked about the boat's progress. He said the islanders were in relatively good shape despite the lack of food.

"Some of the food gardens and cash crops, trees and houses have been destroyed," he said. "There is no food and even water."

The first boatload was expected to complete the two-hour trip to Bogia by late afternoon.

Clouds of ash spewing from the cone of Manam Volcano, with plumes rising up to 10 kilometres (six miles) above the summit, have left ash raining back down on the fertile island for nearly a week.

Officials have blamed contaminated water for two deaths, although this was denied by Bivi who said nobody had died so far but there had been several injuries.

The mass evacuation could take up to a week and will require more than 20 trips by the container vessel, which has a capacity of around 600 people.

The evacuation was originally planned to begin on Saturday, but delays in bringing the ship from Port Moresby meant it only arrived in the regional centre of Madang late in the day.

Officials at the Rabaul Volcano Observatory, which has sent an observer to Manam to monitor the situation, said Sunday the levels of activity within the volcano were still rising.

From Madang, disaster relief official Luke Kalaua said the situation could worsen and that islanders could be at risk if they stayed.

"That means there is a possibility that it will go into a major eruption," he said.

Land has been prepared for the islanders near Bogia on a former coconut and cocoa plantation and the government expects to feed the evacuees for at least six months.

The eruption began last month but resumed with a vengeance a week ago, leaving the subsistence farmers and fishermen malnourished and short of clean water.

The island has no telephone service and relies on radio for contact with the outside world, and the poor communications have been worsened by the ash, which has rendered solar panels to generate electricity useless.

It remains unclear whether the islanders will be able to return to Manam.

It is not the first time the island has been evacuated. Its long history of volcanic eruptions has required similar evacuations in the past but the fertile soil and strong ties have always lured the islanders back.

However, traditional leaders have firmly backed the latest evacuation as there is little alternative.

Manam last erupted in 1996, when a lava flow hit a village and killed several people.

PNG contains a large number of volcanoes as it lies at the junction of two tectonic plates on the earth's surface.

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