The government of Philippines is getting all the emergency teams ready as they brace for Taal volcano to erupt after it started showing signs of eruption with volcanic ash seen flowing out of the vent.
The ash was spewed from Taal Volcano which is the second largest in the country and is believed that it can cause catastrophic damages should it erupt.
Efforts started on Sunday to evacuate all residents who were staying near the mountain. Of course, some cases became forced as some residents didn’t want to leave the only land that they have known for life. Currently over 8,000 people have been evacuated.
Roads to an evacuation centre in Talisay town on Monday were blocked with police saying that the volcanic ash had made the roads too dangerous to cross. There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage but there was no power in affected areas and water was in short supply.
“We have to be very cautious,” said Pong Mercado, the mayor of Taal town. “The roads are slippery and dangerous. I myself am making plans to move to safer ground.”
Volcanology and Seismology Department (PhilVocs) has been monitoring Taal since March last year.
On Sunday, it raised the alert level to 4 out of a 5-point scale and warned of a “possible hazardous volcanic eruption” within hours or days.
Taal Volcano is the second largest in the country and attracts a lot of tourists every year
As of yesterday, the volcano has erupted once so far but it has only gashed out ashes and this has given the government time to evacuate the area.
Tourism will be affected for the time being however some of the tourist guides are saying that the ash eruption has increased on tourism as tourists are very interested in seeing the current volcanic eruption.
Honey Rose Isturias and her partner came from nearby Cavite to celebrate his birthday and specifically to witness Taal’s volcanic activity.
“We climbed Taal last year and saw its crater up close,” she said, taking selfies with the volcano in the background. “We thought it would be nice to come back.
“It’s a bit scary, but also terrifyingly beautiful,” she said, watching the volcano as it spewed out clouds of smoke.
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