Philippines' Taal volcano could be portending a bigger, more dangerous eruption as it spewed more lava into the sky and trembled constantly on Tuesday. Tens and thousands of people fled nearby villages as the sky darkened and blanketed by heavy ash.
The continuous restiveness of the Taal volcano and several new fissures cracking the ground nearby likely means magma is rising as well and may lead to further eruptive activity, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said.
The Taal volcano was spurting fountains of red-hot lava 800 meters into the sky, and the massive column of ash and volcanic debris at times flashed with streaks of lightning. Homes of people living nearby got covered in ash as a 15-kilometre column of pebbles, ash and steam were being blasted into the air by the volcano situated in the middle of a lake in Batangas province. This resulted in the closure of Manila airport and shut down a part of Manila until the ashfall eased. The government's disaster-response agency counted more than 30,400 evacuees in Batangas and nearby Cavite provinces.
Fishing villages that have long existed on the small island where the 1,020-foot volcano lies have been evacuated. Volcanology officials have also called for a total evacuation of endangered communities within a 14-kilometre radius of Taal.
Government work was suspended and schools closed in numerous towns and cities, including Manila, because of the health risks from the ash. The eruption has not directly caused deaths or major damage.
Taal's last disastrous eruption, in 1965, killed hundreds of people.
The volcano has people worried as it is a complex one with numerous eruption points that have changed with time, rather than one vent. The unpredictable volcano has had around 35 eruptions in the last 100 years. The entire volcano island has been declared as a 'danger zone' by Phivolcs or the Philippine national institution dedicated to providing information on the activities of volcanoes, earthquakes, and tsunamis. According to a Phivolcs expert, there is a risk of a tsunami, that could be caused by falling debris after an eruption generating waves in the lake. The volcano began erupting and sending columns of ash and generating lava fountains.
