As Australia is being devastated by uncontrollable bushfires, the Philippines was just hit by another natural disaster. Taal Volcano located on the big island of Luzon erupted January 12, 2020, reportedly sending ash and steam up to 6-9 miles into the sky. With the alert level of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) escalating from Alert Level 2 to Alert Level 4, it is now believed that “a hazardous explosive eruption is possible within hours to days.”

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology ordered an evacuation in the towns of Balete, San Nicolas and Talisay in Batangas and other towns within the shores of Taal Lake. As people watched in awe and terror, some managed to snap pictures of the erupting volcano. The images show the smoke and ash rising from the mouth of Taal, reaching high up in the sky. Due to this, the Manila International Airport Authority was forced to suspend all flights to and from all terminals of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

Unfortunately, numbers aren’t stacked in the residents’ favor as a more severe explosive eruption seems to be just moments away and the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs issued a situation report stating that an estimated number of 459,300 people are within the 14 km danger zone.

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