Philippine Volcano Continues to Spew Lava, Ash for Third Day
Posted: Tue Jan 14, 2020 3:53 am
A man walks on a road covered with ashes from the erupting Taal Volcano in Talisay, Batangas, Philippines, Jan. 13, 2020.
More than 30,000 people near the Philippine capital, Manila, have been evacuated from the immediate vicinity of a volcano that has been belching lava, ash and steam since it erupted Sunday.
Scientists at the Philippines's seismology agency issued a warning of a major and far more explosive eruption at the Taal volcano, located more than 60 kilometers north of Manila. The large cloud of ash, which blasted several kilometers into the sky during Taal's initial eruption, has also produced intermittent streaks of lightning.
The ash eventually fell over Manila, forcing authorities to shut down the city's main airport until Monday.
Taal last erupted in 1977, 12 years after an eruption killed some 200 people.
The Philippines archipelago lies along the Pacific Ocean's so-called "Ring of Fire," a long line of active faults and volcanoes where most of the world's seismic activity occurs.