Story highlights
Mount Tavurvur spews a tower of ash 60,000 feet into the sky
The volcano is situated near the township of Rabaul on the island of New Britain
Tavurvur erupted in 1994 along with another nearby volcano, destroying Rabaul
(CNN) —
A volcano erupted in Papua New Guinea on Friday, spurting ash tens of thousands of feet into the sky.
The eruption of Mount Tavurvur on the island of New Britain began early Friday, said Craig Earl-Spurr, a meteorologist at the Darwin Volcanic Ash Advisory Center in Australia.
The volcano spewed a thick tower of ash that reached as high as 60,000 feet above sea level.
Photos: Recently active volcanoes
This May 8 file photo of the Bogoslof volcano in Alaska's Aleutian islands shows a crater now filled by a warm saltwater lake. The volcano erupted on Bogoslof Island on Sunday, May 28, producing an ash cloud that reached up to 45,000 feet, according to the Alaska Volcano Observatory.
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Alaska Volcano Observatory
Photos: Recently active volcanoes
Villagers look on as Mount Sinabung volcano spews thick volcanic ash in Karo, Indonesia, on Friday, May 19.
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Ivan Damanik/AFP/Getty Images
Photos: Recently active volcanoes
The Turrialba volcano spews smoke and ash in May 2016 in Cartago, Costa Rica. Experts say it is the strongest eruption from the volcano in the past six years.
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EZEQUIEL BECERRA/AFP/Getty Images
Photos: Recently active volcanoes
The Pavlof volcano erupts on Alaska's remote Aleutian Island archipelago in March 2016.
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Colt Snapp/Alaska Volcano Observatory
Photos: Recently active volcanoes
The Ecuadorian volcano Tungurahua spews lava and ash in Cahuaji, about 80 miles south of Quito, in February 2016. Authorities raised the alert level from yellow to orange after the volcano increased its activity and projected a column of ash 3 miles high.
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JUAN CEVALLOS/AFP/AFP/Getty Images
Photos: Recently active volcanoes
The Soputan volcano spews lava and ash during an eruption on Indonesia's Sulawesi island in January 2016.
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Adwit B Pramono/ANTARA FOTO/Reuters/Landov
Photos: Recently active volcanoes
The Momotombo volcano erupts just before daybreak in Leon, Nicaragua, on December 4, 2015. The volcano had been quiet for many years.
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Esteban Felix/AP
Photos: Recently active volcanoes
Smoke rises over the Italian city of Taormina during an eruption of Mount Etna, one of the most active volcanoes in the world, in December 2015.
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GIOVANNI ISOLINO/AFP/Getty Images
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Cotopaxi, a volcano in Ecuador, sends large gray puffs of ash into the sky on August 14, 2015. Officials declared a yellow alert, the lowest level.
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Getty Images
Photos: Recently active volcanoes
Thick ash, rock fragments and volcanic gases pour from Mount Sinabung in Indonesia. The government's natural disaster management agency raised the alert level on June 5, 2015.
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Ahmad Zikri Mohamad Zuki/CNN iReport
Photos: Recently active volcanoes
Mount Shindake spews ash on Kuchinoerabu Island in Yakushima, Japan, in May 2015. The volcano erupted shortly before 10 a.m. local time, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.
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The Asahi Shimbun via Getty Images
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The Wolf volcano at Isabela Island -- the largest of the Galapagos Islands west of mainland Ecuador -- erupts May 25, 2015 for the first time in 33 years.
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Diego Paredes Photo/AP
Photos: Recently active volcanoes
The Calbuco volcano erupts near Puerto Varas, Chile, in April 2015.
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Carlos F. Gutierrez/ap
Photos: Recently active volcanoes
Smoke rises from the Turrialba volcano in Turrialba, Costa Rica, in March 2015. Eruptions of ash and stones prompted authorities to evacuate residential areas.
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Kent Gilbert/Xinhua/Landov
Photos: Recently active volcanoes
The Fuego volcano spews a cloud of ash west of Guatemala City, Guatemala, in March 2015.
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Esteban Biba/EFE/Sipa USA
Photos: Recently active volcanoes
Villarrica, a Chilean volcano, began erupting in March 2015. The volcano is one of Chile's most active.
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ARIEL MARINKOVIC/AFP/Getty Images
Photos: Recently active volcanoes
Lava flows from the Kilauea volcano in Pahoa, Hawaii, in October 2014. The flow picked up speed, prompting emergency officials to close part of the main road through town and tell residents to be prepared to evacuate.
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From USGS
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Japan's Mount Sakurajima erupts in September 2014. It was the second volcano in two days to erupt in Japan.
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Chris McGrath/Getty Images
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Dense white plumes rise high in the air as Mount Ontake erupts in central Japan in September 2014.
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Kyodo News/AP
Photos: Recently active volcanoes
Mount Slamet spews lava and gas during an eruption in Brebes, Indonesia, in September 2014.
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Idhad Zakaria/AP
Photos: Recently active volcanoes
Fountains of lava spurt from a fissure in the ground on the north side of the Bardarbunga volcano in Iceland in September 2014.
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Stefano Di Nicolo/AP
Photos: Recently active volcanoes
Mount Tavurvur erupts in Papua New Guinea in August 2014, forcing local communities to evacuate.
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OLIVER BLUETT/AFP/Getty Images
Photos: Recently active volcanoes
The Karymsky volcano erupts in Kamchatka, Russia, in January 2013.
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Sovfoto/UIG via Getty Images
Photos: Recently active volcanoes
The Copahue volcano emits smoke and ash above Caviahue, in Argentina's Neuquen province, in December 2012.
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Antonio Huglich/AFP/Getty Images
Photos: Recently active volcanoes
Western Mexico's Colima volcano emits lava in October 2004. The Global Volcanism Program reported "a bright thermal anomaly" as well as gas emission in November 2013.
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IVAN GARCIA/AFP/Getty Images
Dramatic photos posted on social media showed Tavurvur belching fire and ash from across a bay. The volcano is situated only a few kilometers from the township of Rabaul.
In 1994, Tavurvur erupted at the same time as nearby Mount Vulcan, destroying Rabaul.
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