(Fox News) – Authorities in the Philippines have warned that a “volcanic tsunami” may be possible after a small volcano near the country’s capital erupted on Sunday, shutting down the main international airport and causing tens of thousands to evacuate. The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said in an advisory the Taal Volcano, located about 37 miles south of Manila, has been continuously blasting a column of steam, ash, and pebbles up to 9 miles into the sky.
The volcanology institute raised the danger level around Taal three notches on Sunday to “Alert Level 4.” “This means that hazardous explosive eruption is possible within hours to days,” the institute’s advisory read. Level 5, the highest, means a hazardous eruption is underway and could affect a larger area. There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage,
but authorities scrambled to evacuate more than 6,000 villagers from an island in the middle of a lake, where the volcano lies, and tens of thousands more from nearby coastal towns, officials said. About 300,000 people were targeted to be moved to safety in Batangas overnight and in the next few days. The institute warned that those within an 8-mile radius of the volcano’s crater along the lake are at “high risk” pyroclastic flows and “volcanic tsunami.” FULL REPORT
