The rumbling Taal Volcano forced thousands of residents to flee their homes on Monday.
More than 24,000 people in the danger zones of Batangas and Cavite fled their respective areas as authorities warned of possible volcanic tsunami if the situation in Taal would reach alert level 5.
The Provincial Government of Batangas placed the entire province under the state of calamity due to the volcanic eruption. Most homes and other structures were covered with thick ash.
In a series of photos uploaded by Yumie Dingding on Facebook, the residents of Angoncillo, Batangas were scrambling to flee the area, creating a tailback of vehicles.
Agoncillo is bounded in the east by approximately 10 kilometers lakeshore of Taal Lake.
On Sunday night, at least 20 people in the area are feared dead in a road accident involving a vehicle after falling into a ravine as it fled the Taal Volcano unrest.
“Some residents have been evacuated in the nearby Taal National High School in Taal Town, however, also immediately moved to Batangas City due to the increasing volume of ashfall and tremors felt several times for 2 days,” Dingding said.
Tremors are still being felt in the region. The Philippine Seismic Network (PSM) reported that the Taal region experienced a total of one hundred forty-four (144) volcanic earthquakes since 1:00 PM (9:00 am UAE time) Monday.
Meanwhile, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said that from steam-driven eruption, the Taal situation has progressed to magmatic eruption.
Phivolcs added that Agoncillo, Laurel, Taal, San Nicolas, Talisay, Tanauan, Mataas na Kahoy, portions of Lipa, Balete are high-risk areas.
It also warned of a possible “volcanic tsunami”, which can be triggered by falling debris from Taal volcano eruption.
It may happen if the volcanic activity would reach Alert Level 5. The falling debris may push the water generating big waves or tsunami, according to Phivolcs.
As per the 4 p.m. bulletin of Phivolcs, the volcano resumed eruption with weak and sporadic lava fountaining at its main crater.
The eruption, Phivolcs said in a statement on Twitter, generated steam-laden plumes approximately two kilometers tall.
Scroll down to see more photos of the situation in Agoncillo, Batangas.
