Philippine Volcano Belches Dark Plume; Villagers Evacuated

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."