More than 2,700 people have fled their homes as the Philippines' second-most active volcano erupted and government scientists warned on Friday that stronger explosions could occur. Five bursts of volcanic gas and steam, reaching as high as 3 kilometers into the air, occurred at Taal Volcano in Batangas province, 66 kilometers south of Manila, on Thursday, dpa reported. In the past 24 hours, the institute recorded 29 volcanic earthquakes and high levels of Sulphur dioxide emissions at Taal Volcano, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said. The alert in Taal was raised to level three, which means that "magma extruding from the main crater could drive explosive eruption," the institute said in a bulletin. Phivolcs urged residents to stay away from high-risk areas "due to the hazards of pyroclastic density currents and volcanic tsunami should strong eruptions occur." Since Thursday evening, 2,784 residents from 13 villages around Taal have evacuated their homes, spokesman for the national disaster agency Mark Timblal said. No mandatory evacuation was being implemented, and local governments were concentrating on moving people out of areas that are supposed to be off limits and high risk, he added.
