Over four hundred people in Vanuatu displaced from their villages on Gaua island by volcanic activity in 2009 are now being allowed to return home.
A national disaster committee spokesperson says emissions of toxic gas and ashes on the western side of the island have decreased over the past five months meaning residents can return from their temporary settlements on the eastern side of the island.
Some of the displaced people claim the government has not helped them since their relocation.
But the disaster committee spokesperson says the government had negotiated for land on the island of Vanualava in case a major eruption, requiring a full evacuation of the island, occurred.
