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Taal volcano, one of the world’s smallest volcanoes that started spewing lava. It has the potential to cause a volcanic tsunami.
The volcano started emitting huge amount of ash and smoke into the sky on sunday.
As many as 16,700 people were evacuated after the ash fall reached the capital Manila.
Taal volcano is located within a middle of a lake, and is part of a volcanic chain that extends through the western region of the island of Luzon.
Taal volcano, one of the world’s smallest volcanoes that started spewing lava in Philippines. This could spiral into a “hazardous eruption” that can occur within hours or days -- and probably lead to a volcanic tsunami.
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Volcano tsunamis are often caused by tectonic movements in the ocean from volcanic activity.
As many as 16,700 people were evacuated after the ash fall reached the capital Manila. The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) raised the threat level from 1 to 4 on a scale of 5 after an increase in activity within Taal's crater resulted in the billowing of a huge plume of smoke that reached heights of around 1 km.
An alert level of 4 implies that a dangerous eruption could be imminent and that there is a risk of a tsunami.
Taal volcano is located within a middle of a lake, and is part of a volcanic chain that extends through the western region of the island of Luzon.
At 1p.m local time, Taal volcano, located about 70km from the capital Manila, suddenly started emitting huge ashes and smokes in the sky on sunday.
The volcano, which has erupted 33 times since 1572, killed some 1,300 people in an eruption in 1911 and 200 in 1965.
“Taal is a very small volcano but a dangerous volcano, It is unique because it is a volcano within a volcano,” Renato Solidum, head of The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology told Aljazeera.
In the last 24 hours, up to 75 earthquakes of volcanic origin have been recorded, 32 of them of noticeable intensity, including one of magnitude 3.8 during early Monday morning.
The areas surrounding the volcano have been covered by a thick layer of ash and toxic smoke. The health department asked people to stay indoors or use masks and glasses in case they step out.
The department also discouraged people from driving, as visibility is limited and the ground has turned slippery due to ash.
Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila and Clark International Airport (about 90 km north of the capital), partially resumed operations after having been shut down due to lack of visibility.
As many as 109 international and 87 domestic flights were cancelled and thousands of passengers stranded after the airport shut operations.