Philippines
Thousands of local residents are evacuating homes because of Taal volcano
Taal Volcano spews white steam and ash. Photo: Reynante Olitan De Villa/AP/dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
Taal Volcano is the second most active volcano in the Philippines. There have been several explosions since Saturday. Thousands of people have now left their homes.
There were two explosions at Taal volcano in the Philippines this morning. At least 3,300 residents of the towns of Agoncillo and Laurel near the Feuerberg have now left their homes and apartments, local authorities said.
The volcano erupted on Saturday with a cloud of vapors, gases and ash three kilometers high.
On Sunday, explosions in Taal’s main crater produced plumes of smoke 800 and 400 meters high, the state seismological institute Phivolcs said. Warning level 3 will initially continue to apply, said the director of Phivolcs, Renato Solidum. “It means that there is magmatic activity there,” he told Teleradyo. “The magma slowly rises to the crater and its interaction with water causes explosions.”
Taal is the second most active volcano in the Philippines after Mayon. It is located on the main island of Luzon around 66 kilometers south of the capital Manila. The area is densely populated and also popular with tourists. The volcano last erupted in January 2020. At that time, more than 370,000 people had to leave their homes. The Philippines lies on the Pacific Ring of Fire, the most geologically active zone on earth.