Sulphurous haze over Saipan island, neighbours

HAGATNA, Guam, March 1 (Reuters) A sulphurous haze has engulfed the Pacific island of Saipan and nearby areas for the past three days, coming from a smouldering volcano that last erupted in 2005, officials and residents said.

People with respiratory problems on Saipan and the nearby islands of Rota and Tinian have been advised to stay indoors because of the activity at Anatahan volcano, 75 miles (120 km) north of Saipan.

Patrick Cepeda, an officer with the Emergency Management Office of the Northern Mariana Islands, said how long the haze would continue to linger would depend on wind patterns.

''This is the longest time,'' he said, contacted by telephone from Guam. ''Usually it's a day or two.'' The haze has been around this time since February 26, reducing visibility to six miles, and emptying schools on February 27. But it is beginning to move on since winds picked up on Feb. 28, residents said.

Cepeda said the activity at Anatahan was not a prelude to an eruption.

Anatahan first erupted on May 10, 2003, with a towering column of volcanic ash of about 33,000 feet. Residents of the island had long before evacuated. Since then there has been one volcanic eruption on April 6, 2005.

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