Philippine villagers evacuated after Taal Volcano rumbles but shelters risk becoming coronavirus clusters

Pre-emptive evacuations that began late on Thursday involved residents in five high-risk villages. More than 14,000 people may have to be moved eventually

The 311-metre Taal erupted last year, displacing hundreds of thousands of people and sending clouds of ash to Manila

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Residents who fled their homes at an evacuation centre in Laurel, Batangas province, Philippines. Photo: AP

Published: 6:15pm, 2 Jul 2021Updated: 9:33pm, 2 Jul 2021

Thousands of people were being evacuated from villages around a rumbling volcano near the Philippine capital on Friday, but officials said they faced another dilemma of ensuring emergency shelters will not turn into epicentres of Covid-19 infections.

The alert was raised to three on a five-level scale after Taal Volcano blasted a dark grey plume into the sky on Thursday. The five-minute steam- and gas-driven explosion was followed by four smaller emissions but the volcano was generally calm on Friday, vulcanologists said.

Level three means “magma is near or at the surface, and activity could lead to hazardous eruption in weeks,” according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology. Level five means a life-threatening eruption is occurring that could endanger communities.

The agency asked people to stay away from a small island in a scenic lake where Taal sits and is considered a permanent danger zone along with a number of nearby lakeside villages in Batangas province south of Manila.

An eruption of Taal last year displaced hundreds of thousands of people and briefly closed Manila’s international airport. However, the volcano agency’s chief, Renato Solidum, said it was too early to know if the volcano’s current unrest will lead to a full-blown eruption.

The pre-emptive evacuations that began late on Thursday involved residents in five high-risk villages in the lakeside towns of Laurel and Agoncillo.

More than 14,000 people may have to be moved temporarily away from the volcano, said Mark Timbal, a spokesman for the government’s disaster response agency.

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A year after Philippines’ Taal volcano eruption, island remains ghost town

Philippine villagers evacuated after Taal Volcano rumbles but shelters risk becoming coronavirus clusters

Pre-emptive evacuations that began late on Thursday involved residents in five high-risk villages. More than 14,000 people may have to be moved eventually The 311-metre Taal erupted last year, displacing hundreds of thousands of people and sending clouds of ash to Manila

Pre-emptive evacuations that began late on Thursday involved residents in five high-risk villages. More than 14,000 people may have to be moved eventually

The 311-metre Taal erupted last year, displacing hundreds of thousands of people and sending clouds of ash to Manila