Taal Volcano in the Philippines continues to spew ash as thousands flee

Bonnie Christian14 January 2020

Red-hot lava, ash and steam is continuing to flow from a volcano near the Philippine capital as fears of a dangerous eruption have seen thousands flee their homes.

The Taal volcano rumbled into life on Sunday with authorities continuing to warn that a “hazardous eruption” is possible “within hours or days”.

Towns around Taal, which is about 45 miles south of the capital Manila, were seen coated in thick ash and sludge in the days following.

The volcano was spurting fountains of red-hot lava 500 metres into the sky on Tuesday with dark-grey plumes of ash-laden steam that reached more than a mile high.

More than 200 earthquakes have been detected in and around Taal, 81 of which were felt with varying intensities.

Philippines: Taal Volcano aftermath - In pictures

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“Such intense seismic activity probably signifies continuous magmatic intrusion beneath the Taal edifice, which may lead to further eruptive activity,” the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said.

The government's disaster-response agency said 13,000 villagers were moved to evacuation centres in Batangas and Cavite provinces. It said nearly 25,000 people had been displaced by the eruption.

Government work was suspended and schools closed in nearby towns and cities, including Manila, because of the health risks from the ash.

The small island where the 311 metre volcano lies has long been designated a “permanent danger zone,” though fishing villages have long existed there.

Philippines: Taal Volcano eruption - In pictures

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Taal’s last disastrous eruption, in 1965, killed hundreds of people.

It is the second-most restive of about two dozen active volcanoes in the Philippines, which lies along the Pacific Ring of Fire, where most of the world’s seismic activity occurs.

A long-dormant volcano, Mount Pinatubo, blew its top north of Manila in 1991 in one of the biggest volcanic eruptions of the 20th century, killing hundreds of people.

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