This content was published on March 26, 2022 – 8:32 am March 26, 2022 – 8:32 am
Manila, March 26 (EFE) .- The Philippine authorities evacuated hundreds of people from their homes this Saturday, while thousands evacuated near the Taal volcano near Manila after a small eruption that led to the release of gas and Steam led to remain on alert hundreds of feet high.
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology said in a statement that the main crater of Taal volcano produced “a brief explosion” at 7:22 a.m. (1:22 GMT) on Saturday, raising the alert to Level 3 out of 5 before intrusion Magma in the main crater that can cause further eruptions.
The explosion was followed by “near-continuous” activity of the magma inside the volcano, causing plumes of smoke up to 1,500 meters high alongside volcanic earthquakes.
The Natural Disaster Management Center ordered the urgent evacuation of more than a thousand people in towns less than seven kilometers from the crater in the early hours of the morning, making sure that the fishermen who normally fish in the lake surrounding the volcano do their Boats had docked, given the risk of tsunamis caused by seismic activity.
Taal is a small 1,000-foot (311-meter) volcano that forms an island in the middle of a lake of the same name, whose waters are bubbling with activity, sometimes causing steam-driven eruptions.
Despite frequent activity in recent years, the surrounding area is densely populated and a major outbreak could affect tens of thousands of people, which is why authorities have urged the population to take precautions.
Its last major eruption occurred in January 2020, when more than 200,000 people were temporarily evacuated and the government declared the volcano’s slopes, which by then housed about 6,000 families, permanently uninhabitable.
Despite its small size, Taal is one of the most active volcanoes in the world, having erupted 33 times since 1572, and also one of the deadliest: its 1911 eruption killed 1,300 people and the 1965 eruption killed 200. EFE
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