Thousands of people are forced to evacuate their homes after the eruption of the Taal volcano in the Philippines.
The eruption occurred on Saturday at 7:22 am local time, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology said in a statement.
According to the institute, magma came into contact with water in the main crater, causing a steam explosion that was accompanied by volcanic earthquakes.
The initial eruption was followed by continuous phreatomagmatic activity, which created plumes 1,500 meters high in the air.
Although ash and steam emissions have already decreased, the institute's sensors continue to detect volcanic earthquakes, which does not exclude a new eruption.
The Institute has raised the alarm to the third level in its five-level warning system.
The inhabitants of the five nearest villages, and this is more than 12 thousand people, were ordered to leave their homes.
Taal is an active volcano in the Philippines, located on the island of Luzon in the province of Batangas, 50 km south of the capital Manila.
Periodically subjected to eruptions and earthquakes due to its location in the Pacific Ring of Fire - a zone of intense seismic activity.
It last erupted in January 2020, evacuating about 380,000 residents and destroying many houses and roads in the province.
After that, access to the volcanic island was banned.