A volcano south of the Philippine capital Manila spewed a giant ash plume accompanied by rumbling sounds and tremors on Sunday, prompting authorities to raise the alert level and order the evacuation of about 8,000 residents, Trend reports citing Reuters.
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology raised the alert level at the rumbling Taal volcano to “level 3”, indicating “magmatic unrest” that could lead to a “hazardous eruption in weeks”. The highest alert is level 5, hoisted when magmatic eruption is underway.
In an advisory, the Institute said it was strongly recommending that people evacuate the area around the Taal volcano, which is on an island in the middle of Taal lake, and two nearby “high-risk” municipalities in Batangas province as it warned of “possible hazards of pyroclastic density currents and volcanic tsunami”.
The country’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council told reporters that an evacuation of the area has begun, led by local government officials.
The volcano spewed ash that generated a 1-km (0.6 mile) high plume that later triggered ashfall in nearby communities, the Institute said.
About 8,000 residents were at risk and needed to be immediately evacuated, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, citing the Institute’s data and recommendations.