Fears of second more dangerous eruption from Philippines Taal volcano
A volcano near the Philippines’ capital could soon have another more dangerous blast after an eruption blanketed villages in ash and caused tens of thousand of people to flee their homes.
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Philippine authorities fear a more dangerous eruption from a volcano near country’s capital after a blast on the weekend caused tens of thousands of people to flee their homes and blanketed villages in ash.
Government work was suspended and schools were closed in a number of towns and cities on Tuesday, including Manila, because of health risks from the ash. Hundreds of flights were cancelled or delayed, affecting tens of thousands of passengers.
The restiveness of the Taal volcano and several new fissures in the ground nearby likely mean magma is rising and may lead to further eruptive activity, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said. The volcano was spurting fountains of red-hot lava 800 meters into the sky, and the massive column of ash and volcanic debris at times lit up with streaks of lightning.
The alert level since the eruption began Sunday has been 4, indicating a hazardous eruption is possible in hours to days. Level 5, the highest, means such an eruption is underway.
More than 350 volcanic earthquakes have been recorded near Taal since Sunday, U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in New York.
The Philippine institute said about 50 volcanic earthquakes were detected over eight hours Tuesday, indicating rising magma. It also warned that heavy and prolonged ash fall was possible in nearby villages.
“The speed in the rise of magma is important (in determining) when the volcano will have a strong eruption and if it will slow down and freeze,” said Renato Solidum, who heads the institute.
“As of now, we don’t see activities slowing down and the earthquakes still continue.”
More than 38,000 people have been relocated so far to over 200 evacuation centres, Dujarric said. He said UN teams are visiting centres and supporting authorities, who have asked for help getting face masks.
The picturesque volcano in the middle of a lake in Batangas province south of Manila rumbled to life Sunday in a powerful explosion that blasted a 15-kilometer column of ash, steam and rock into the sky. Clouds of volcanic ash blowing over Manila, 65 kilometres to the north, closed the country’s main airport Sunday and part of Monday until the ash fall eased. More than 500 international and domestic flights were cancelled or delayed due to the overnight airport closure, affecting about 80,000 passengers, airport manager Ed Monreal said.
“Hopefully the wind direction does not change. As long as the ash fall does not reach us, then we can be back to normalcy,” Monreal said.
The disaster-response agency counted more than 40,000 evacuees in Batangas and nearby Cavite provinces who took shelter in nearly 200 evacuation centres. Officials expected the number to swell.
Solidum warned residents from returning to high-risk villages based on perceptions that the eruption was easing. He warned of pyroclastic flows, super- heated material from the volcano that can travel at great speed and incinerate anything in their path.
Solidum said it would take time for Taal’s restiveness to ease and the lives of affected villagers to return to normal but added it’s difficult to predict the volcano’s behaviour with certainty.
“We have to make sure that people understand and, of course, government, that this is not an activity that will just be a short while,” Solidum told a news conference.
President Rodrigo Duterte visited hard-hit Batangas, which has been declared a calamity zone for faster disbursement of emergency funds. Accompanied by top disaster-response officials and Cabinet members, he promised the national government would help with the cleanup and reconstruction of the devastated province once the eruption ends.
The government disaster-response agency has not provided details of damage but journalists saw dozens of houses ruined by heavy ash and frequent quakes in two Batangas areas.
At least six people have been taken to a hospital in Tagaytay city in Cavite due to respiratory ailments caused by the ash, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said.
The eruption has not directly caused deaths or major damage. The death of a driver in a crash on an ash-covered road was linked to slippery conditions. The small island where the 311-meter volcano lies has long been designated a “permanent danger zone,” though fishing villages have long existed there. Those villages were all evacuated, though volcanology officials have called for a total evacuation of endangered communities within a 14-kilometer radius of Taal.
Taal’s last disastrous eruption, in 1965, killed hundreds of people. It is the second-most restive of about two dozen active volcanoes in the Philippines, which lies along the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” where much of the world’s seismic activity occurs.
A long-dormant volcano, Mount Pinatubo, blew its top north of Manila in 1991 in one of the biggest volcanic eruptions of the 20th century, killing hundreds of people.
AUSSIE CAUGHT IN ‘SURREAL’ VOLCANO EXPLOSION
An Australian caught up in a Philippines volcano eruption has described the experience as “surreal” after ash clouds engulfed the town he was visiting.
Brisbane deputy principal Liam Beatty was returning from his cousin’s wedding in Lipa City on Sunday when Taal volcano erupted for the first time since 1977. The volcano began spewing ash and steam and 45,000 people were evacuated from surrounding areas, while officials say 200,000 more residents could be forced to flee if the eruption worsens.
Mr Beatty is staying with family in Tanuan - parts of which have been evacuated - just 14km from the volcano and 66km south of Manila.
“The clouds got bigger and darker as it grew and you could hear thunder and see lightning coming from within the volcano itself,” Mr Beatty said. “It looks like massive storm clouds forming which then gradually take over the whole sky. Then the ash came down - it became black even though it was still afternoon.
“The only thing I can compare it to is snowfall. It’s not hot and doesn’t hurt or anything but you can feel it.”
Roads, houses, vehicles, trees and other infrastructure were covered in ash that transformed into sludge following rainfall.
At least 144 volcanic earthquakes have been recorded since Sunday, with 44 of the tremors felt at various intensities.
“I woke up around 3:30am and felt them go through. There was nothing falling off the shelves but tables were shaking enough to know it was an earthquake,” Mr Beatty said.
“It’s been pretty surreal being here, it’s a similar feeling to the eeriness around town during the 2011 Brisbane floods.
“It was pretty lucky the wedding was the day before because it would have been covered in smoke and ash.”
Mr Beatty has been to Taal volcano on previous visits but “never imagined” he’d witness it erupting. He said the locals’ pragmatic approach helped him remain calm.
“The Philippines is pretty chilled. They don’t get too stressed about things so nobody was in panic stations like me, but there was obviously still concern,” he said.
“Tanuan is a growing town but it’s still very basic. Cleaning the sludge off roofs became really important because some people live in shanties which could easily have collapsed.” Manila’s international airport resumed partial operations at noon on Monday, after closing on Sunday due to falling ash.
Face masks are required to combat the hazardous air in the area.
COUPLE WEDS IN FRONT OF RUMBLING VOLCANO
A couple has tied the knot in the Philippines in an epic scene featuring a spewing volcano and ash billowing behind the altar.
Chino and Kat Vaflor wed at a venue Sunday near Taal Volcano, which was erupting as they said “I do” in astonishing images captured by photographer Randolf Evan, according to CNN.
Ahead of the nuptials, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology warned of a possible eruption at the volcano.
“We were actually nervous because while working we kept on checking social media for updates on the volcanic eruption,” Evan told CNN.
“So we were actually aware of the warnings and escalating levels that was being announced real time.”
But Evans said that guests remained “calm” despite the ominous plume in the background of the wedding at Savanna Farm Tagaytay.
The venue later shared an image on Facebook of the nuptials, with clouds intensely spiralling in the background, and wrote, “The wedding continues!”
There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage from the eruption, but authorities evacuated 6,000 villagers in the Batangas province.
“We have asked people in high-risk areas, including the volcano island, to evacuate now ahead of a possible hazardous eruption,” said Renato Solidum, who heads the volcanology institute.
Red-hot lava has now spewed from the volcano as tens of thousands of people fled through heavy ash and frightening tremors.
Authorities were making plans to evacuate hundreds of thousands more for fear of a bigger eruption.
Originally published as Fears of second more dangerous eruption from Philippines Taal volcano