Vanuatu ? A volcano pumping a huge plume of gas, steam and ash into the atmosphere from a crater ringed with dead trees is unlikely to explode in a devastating eruption, a volcanologist said Thursday, bringing applause from anxious islanders.

About half of Ambae Island’s 10,000 inhabitants have fled their huts built on Mount Manaro’s jungle-covered slopes, and four ships are anchored offshore ready to evacuate the rest if necessary.

But as he watched seismological readings on the Pacific island – inspiration for the idyllic Bali Hai in James Michener’s book “Tales of the South Pacific” – the volcanologist, Brad Scott, said his data suggested it is unlikely the volcano will blow.

The most likely scenario was that the volcano would continue “like it is for some days or weeks,” added Scott, of New Zealand’s Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences.