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PHILIPPINES-VOLCANO LEAD
Philippines on alert as volcano spews ash, lava
TALISAY CITY, Philippines, Jan 13, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – Lava and broad columns
of ash illuminated by lightning spewed from a volcano south of the Philippine
capital on Monday, grounding hundreds of flights as authorities warned of a
possible “explosive eruption”.
Fine grit weighed down trees and turned roads into muddy messes across the
region surrounding the Taal volcano, which burst to life Sunday and has
forced over 20,000 people to seek refuge in evacuation centres, a provincial
governor said.
Geologists said the volcano remained active, spurting red-hot lava some 500
metres (1,600 feet) into the air from new cracks that have opened in its
northern flank, as accompanying earthquakes rattled the area.
“We are really scared of what might happen to us… that our house might
collapse in a strong earthquake and that we’ll all be killed by falling
debris,” said Bienvenido Musa, aged 56.
“Who wouldn’t be scared? That’s why I decided to send my family to an
evacuation centre.”
Taal is a tourist attraction that sits in a picturesque lake, yet is also
one of the most active volcanoes in a nation where earthquakes and eruptions
are a frightening and destructive part of life.
The Philippines sits on the Pacific “Ring of Fire”, where tectonic plates
collide deep below the Earth’s surface.
Schools in the region around Taal, some government offices in Manila and
the Philippine Stock Exchange were closed as authorities issued warnings
against breathing the ash.
Stores quickly sold out of dust masks, which health officials said could
help protect against potentially harmful effects of the powder-like soot.
“I’ll just stay at home and tie a handkerchief around my face. I think
that’s OK,” Manila resident Menchie Claveria said, after attempting to buy a
mask.
Limited flight operations resumed mid-Monday at Manila’s main international
airport, nearly a day after authorities halted them due to the safety risk
volcanic ash poses to planes.
However, travellers booked on over 240 cancelled flights still faced delays
at Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
“I’m disappointed because this (delay) means additional expense for me and
it’s tiring to wait,” said stranded traveller Joan Diocaras, a 28-year-old
Filipino who works in Taiwan.
“But there’s nothing we can do.”
– Alert level raised –
The eruption began with an explosion of superheated steam and rock, but by
early Monday “fountains” of lava had been spotted on Taal, the Philippine
Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said.
Stunning lightning shows have periodically played out above the volcano in
a little-understood phenomenon that has been attributed to static
electricity.
Authorities raised the volcano alert level to its second-highest on Sunday,
saying an “explosive eruption” could happen in “hours to days”.
Phivolcs chief Renato Solidum told AFP the lava was evidence of fresh
movement in the volcano, but said it was unclear if Taal would “sustain its
activity”.
Apart from the ash, some particles up to 6.4 centimetres (2.5 inches) in
diameter, larger than a golf ball, had reportedly fallen in areas around the
lake, Phivolcs said.
Taal’s last eruption was in 1977, Solidum said.
Two years ago, Mount Mayon displaced tens of thousands of people after
spewing millions of tonnes of ash, rocks and lava in the central Bicol
region.
The most powerful explosion in recent years was the 1991 eruption of Mount
Pinatubo, about 100 kilometres northwest of Manila, which killed more than
800 people.
BSS/AFP/ARS/1716 hrs