Manila, Mar. 27, (dpa/GNA) – At least 3,300 residents have fled their homes around the Philippines’ second-most active volcano, where two explosions were recorded early Sunday, officials said.
Taal Volcano in Batangas province, 66 kilometres south of Manila, erupted on Saturday, generating a 3-kilometre-tall plume of steam, gas and ash.
On Sunday, the explosions from Taal’s main crater produced 800-metre and 400-metre-tall plumes, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said in a bulletin.
Taal Volcano’s alert remains at level three, Phivolcs Director Renato Solidum said.
“This means there is magmatic activity,” he told news television channel Teleradyo. “The magma is slowly rising up to the crater and its interaction with water causes explosions.”
A total of 3,383 residents from the high-risk towns of Agoncillo and Laurel near the volcano have moved to public schools turned into evacuation centres since Saturday, local officials said.
Some residents have refused to leave their homes, noting that the eruptions were still mild.
Phivolcs and the Department of Health have warned of dangers from sulfur-smelling ashfall from the volcano and urged residents to close their windows and stay indoors.
“Communities around the Taal Lakeshores are advised to remain vigilant, take precautionary measures against possible airborne ash and (volcanic fog),” Phivolcs said.
Taal is a popular tourist destination for its picturesque crater lake and has the distinction of being the only known volcano in the world within a lake on an island.
Its last major eruption was in January 2020, displacing more than 376,000 people. A total of 39 people died due to illness while in evacuation centres and accidents caused by thick ashfall.
GNA