MANILA: The explosion of Taal, a small volcano near the Philippine capital Manila, has prompted authorities to raise the alert level as hundreds of residents evacuated from nearby areas on Saturday.
The 311-meter volcano, seated in the middle of a lake 50 km south of Manila, spewed a white plume of steam and ash 1.5 km into the sky in a brief explosion.
Taal is the country’s smallest but second-most active volcano with a history of deadly explosions. Eruptions in 2020 displaced hundreds of thousands of people and sent clouds of ash to the capital, where the main airport was temporarily shut down. The volcano has since shown sporadic signs of restiveness.
Magma came into contact with water in the main crater on Saturday morning, setting off a steam-driven blast that was accompanied by volcanic earthquakes, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said.
“The public is reminded that the entire Taal Volcano Island is a permanent danger zone … No activities on Taal Lake should be allowed at this time,” the institute said.
The center raised Taal’s alert level to three in a five-step warning system. It warned residents of possible hazards, from fast-moving gas and molten materials to a “volcanic tsunami” in the volcanic lake, while urging them to evacuate to safer areas.
“Communities around the Taal Lake shores are advised to remain vigilant, take precautionary measures against possible airborne ash and calmly prepare for possible evacuation, should unrest intensify,” it said.
The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said a thousand people had been evacuated from the nearby towns Agoncillo and Laurel, in Batangas province.
Officials are closely monitoring the situation and implementing precautionary measures in various areas. Pilots have been urged to avoid flying over Taal.
Renato Solidum, director of the institute, said: “The explosions we are seeing are not as explosive compared to the one in January 2020.”
At least five eruptions were recorded in July 2021, with one raising Taal’s status to the third level.
The Philippines lies along the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” a region prone to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. The explosion of the long-dormant Mount Pinatubo, north of Manila, that killed hundreds of people in 1991 was one of the biggest volcanic eruptions of the 20th century.
