Philippine Volcano Belches Dark Plume; Villagers Evacuated
Voice of America
MANILA, PHILIPPINES - A small volcano near the Philippine capital belched a dark plume of steam and ash into the sky in a brief explosion Thursday, prompting officials to start evacuating thousands of villagers from high-risk areas.
Government experts said magmatic materials came into contact with water in the main crater of Taal Volcano in Batangas province, setting off the steam-driven blast with no accompanying volcanic earthquake. They said it's unclear if the volcanic unrest could lead to a full-blown eruption. "It's just one explosive event; it's too early to tell," Renato Solidum of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said at a news conference. Three smaller steam-driven emissions occurred Thursday night, he said. The agency raised the alarm at 311-meter Taal, one of the world's smallest volcanoes, to the third of a five-step warning system, meaning "magma is near or at the surface, and activity could lead to hazardous eruption in weeks."Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei performs prayer at a funeral for victims of a helicopter crash that killed Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Abdollahian and others, in Tehran, Iran, May 22, 2024. (West Asia News Agency via Reuters) Mourners attend a funeral for victims of the helicopter crash that killed Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and others, in Tehran, Iran, May 22, 2024. (West Asia News Agency via Reuters) Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, right, offers his condolences to Iran's caretaker president, Mohammad Mokhber, and other officials in Tehran on May 22, 2024. (Iraqi Prime Minister's Press Office via AFP)
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