Restive volcano in Philippines spews gas, steam

Manila, March 31 (IANS) A restive volcano near the Philippine capital Manila spewed magmatic gases and steam on Thursday, following a phreatomagmatic eruption on March 26.In a video post on Facebook, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said it recorded a phreatomagmatic burst from the main crater of Taal volcano at 10.39 a.m., reports Xinhua news agency.A phreatomagmatic eruption occurs when magma and water interact, leading to steam and pyroclastic fragments ejection.Before the eruption, the institute did not detect any volcanic earthquake. But it noted that a "low-level background tremor" has persisted since Wednesday.The volcano island is located in Batangas province, 66 km south of Manila. On March 26, the institute raised the volcanic activity alert level to 3 on a scale of 5 following a phreatomagmatic eruption. The government has evacuated over 7,000 people from 18 villages around the volcano.The Taal volcano, one of the most active volcanoes in the Philippines, last erupted in January 2020, displacing nearly 380,000 villagers and destroying many farms, houses and roads in the nearby provinces.
--IANS ksk/

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