Thousands of people fled their homes near a Philippine volcano after an eruption sent ash and steam hundreds of meters into the sky.
Taal Volcano, located in a scenic lake south of Manila, erupted at 7:22 a.m. Saturday with a “short-lived” eruption, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said in a statement.
It warned of further eruptions that could trigger dangerous, fast-moving volcanic flows of gas, ash and debris, and a tsunami.
Residents of five fishing and farming communities around the lake have been asked to evacuate their homes in the third mass evacuation in as many years around one of the country’s most active volcanoes.
“It was raining mud,” said Cornelia Pesigan, 25, who was sheltering at a school outside the 7 km (4.3 miles) “danger zone.”
“It smelled really bad and I had trouble breathing,” she added.
The initial eruption was followed by “almost continuous phreatomagmatic activity” that threw up plumes as high as 1,500 meters (4,900 feet), the seismological agency said, raising the alert level from two to three on a scale of zero to five .
A phreatomagmatic eruption occurs when molten rock comes in contact with ground or surface water, said Princess Cosalan, a scientist at the agency, likening it to pouring “water into a hot pan”.
Cosalan told AFP that ash and vapor emissions had calmed down in the hours after the initial eruption, but said the institute’s on-site sensors continue to detect volcanic earthquakes and another eruption is “possible.”
Agency head Renato Solidum said activity was weaker than in January 2020, when Taal ash shot up 15 kilometers and spewed glowing lava, destroying dozens of homes, killing livestock and sending tens of thousands into temporary shelters.
“There is no threat beyond the…five villages,” Solidum said.
More than 12,000 people live in the most vulnerable communities, according to the latest available official data.
Police have been deployed to prevent people from entering the high-risk zones, while aviation authorities have warned airlines and pilots of potential dangers from volcanic ash in the atmosphere.
The Philippines is regularly hit by eruptions and earthquakes due to its location on the Pacific Ring of Fire – a zone of intense seismic activity.
Access to the volcanic island, which was once home to a community of thousands, has been banned since the 2020 eruption.
Last July, the seismological agency raised the alert level to three after Taal came back to life.
It spewed sulfur dioxide for several days, laying a dense haze over the capital and surrounding provinces.
The alert level was lowered back to two ahead of Saturday’s outbreak.