Thousands of people fled their homes near a Philippine volcano Saturday after an eruption sent ash and steam hundreds of meters into the sky. Taal volcano, which sits in a picturesque lake south of Manila, exploded with a “short-lived” burst at 7:22 am (2322 GMT), the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said in a statement.
It warned further eruptions were possible, which it said could trigger dangerous, fast-moving volcanic flows of gas, ash, and debris, as well as a tsunami. Residents in five fishing and farming settlements around the lake were ordered to leave their homes, in the third mass evacuation in as many years around one of the country’s most active volcanoes.
“It rained mud,” said Cornelia Pesigan, 25, who sought shelter at a school outside the 7km (4.3 mile) “danger zone”. “It smelled really bad and I had difficulty breathing,” she added.
The initial eruption was followed by “nearly continuous phreatomagmatic activity” that sent plumes stretching 1,500 meters (4,900 feet) into the air, the seismological agency said, raising the alert level from two to three on a scale of zero to five.
A phreatomagmatic eruption happens when molten rock comes into contact with underground or surface water, said Princess Cosalan, a scientist at the agency, likening it to pouring “water on a hot pan”.
Cosalan told AFP that ash and steam emissions had quietened in the hours after the initial burst, but said the institute’s on-site sensors continued to detect volcanic earthquakes and another eruption was “possible”. The agency’s chief, Renato Solidum, said the activity was weaker than in January 2020, when Taal shot ash 15 kilometers high and spewed red-hot lava, crushing scores of homes, killing livestock, and sending tens of thousands into shelters.
