Thousands have been forced to leave their homes after the Philippines’ Taal Volcano erupted and started emitting toxic gas, prompting health cautions.
Gatekeepers News reports that Taal is one of the most active volcanoes in a nation hit regularly by eruptions and earthquakes due to its location on the Pacific “Ring of Fire” – a zone of intense seismic activity. It lies just 50km (30 miles) South of Manila, the capital of Philippines.
Taal, sitting on a scenic lake, has been belching sulphur dioxide for some days, forming a heavy haze over Manila and several surrounding provinces.
Provincial disaster official Joselito Castros stated that no fewer than 2,400 people have so far fled since the government called for evacuations of villages on the lake’s shores.
“We expect more residents to evacuate over the coming days,” he said, adding that they were seeking refuge either in schools closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic or in the homes of relatives.
Civil defence officials have warned that upwards of 317,000 people could be vulnerable to toxic gas emissions from the volcano under the current eruption’s worst-case scenario.
Gatekeepers News gathered that police officers in Agoncillo, a municipality about 120km (75 miles) south of Manila went from house to house with megaphones to tell people to leave their homes.
Some families are however reluctant to leave their homes as they are bothered about likely outbreaks of COVID-19 in crowded spaces.
“We also don’t feel too safe in evacuation centres, so we’ll stay with our relatives,” Agoncillo resident Ramon Anete told Al Jazeera.
“Is it the volcano, is it getting sick, getting COVID?” an evacuee at a centre in the town of Laurel, Imelda Calapatiya queried.
“It’s really hard I have so many children. I can’t sleep just thinking about it,” she added.
