Villagers warned over ‘life-threatening’ volcano
THOUSANDS OF displaced villagers have been warned not to return to the danger zone around an erupting Philippines volcano.
Officials warned that the Taal volcano remains life-threatening despite weaker emissions and fewer tremors.
The volcano emitted weaker ash and steam explosions on Thursday and yesterday, the sixth day of its eruption. But despite the seeming lull, continuing volcanic quakes, the drying of the crater lake and other signs indicate magma is moving beneath, said Maria
Antonia Bornas, an official with the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology.
“When there is an explosion, that will be life-threatening, especially if people get very near, like on Volcano Island,” said Renato Solidum, head of the institute.
The volcano has remained at alert level four, the second-highest warning, indicating a hazardous explosive eruption is possible in hours or days. Mr Solidum said assessing whether the volcano’s restiveness has eased may take up to two weeks.
Tens of thousands of people have been evacuated from areas now under a security lockdown, and soldiers and police have been stopping desperate villagers from returning to retrieve belongings and save their poultry and cattle.
Police have allowed batches of residents to check their homes for a few hours during the day in some high-risk villages.
Jerick Oco, a 21-year-old who worked as a tourist guide on Volcano Island, which sits in the middle of Taal Lake south of Manila, was relieved to hear that the volcano was calming down but said poor villagers like him face more daunting problems, such as finding new homes and jobs. “They should help people retrieve belongings from their homes instead of blocking them. They should help them restart (their lives) again.”
Many houses and farms are damaged by ash, though no deaths or major injuries directly caused by the eruption have been reported. Authorities have reported one traffic fatality on an ash-covered road and an evacuee dying from a heart attack.