Hundreds of families evacuate amid Taal Volcano unrest

MANILA, Philippines — More than 200 families living in high-risk areas were evacuated on Saturday after Taal Volcano was placed under Alert Level 3,  the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said.

The NDRRMC, in a statement, said a total of 241 families from the towns of Agoncillo and Laurel were evacuated as of 11:00 a.m. on Saturday.

The agency said 160 families or 800 to 900 individuals from Barangays (villages) Bilibinwang and Banyaga in Agoncillo town and 81 families or 222 individuals from Barangay Boso-boso, Gulod and the eastern portion of Barangay Bugaan East in Laurel town had been evacuated.

NDRRMC spokesperson Mark Timbal said the said five villages are within the volcano’s 7-kilometer danger zone.

“The five barangays (villages) are considered high risk due to proximity and elevation relative to the volcano,” Timbal told reporters.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) placed Taal Volcano under Alert Level 3 after a series of short phreatomagmatic bursts were reported on Saturday morning.

Phivolcs reported that plumes as high as 1.5 kilometers were spotted from Taal’s main crater at 7:22 a.m., which was accompanied by volcanic earthquakes.

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Alert Level 3 up over Taal Volcano — Phivolcs

/MUF