Classes suspended; 5.9M students affected

MANILA, Philippines — Classes for at least 5.9 million students were suspended amid the eruption of Taal Volcano, the Department of Education (DepEd) said on Monday.

In a report after Taal Volcano was raised to alert level 4, signalling an imminent magmatic eruption, the DepEd said 5,942,724 students were in areas affected by the restive volcano. Classes in these areas had to be suspended.

These students were dispersed across three regions—Metro Manila, Central Luzon and Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon).

Overall, 5,395 schools among 46 school divisions were affected, with several in Calabarzon being used as evacuation centers.