Philippines lowers alert level of Taal volcano

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology on Saturday lowered the alert level for Taal volcano, 66 km south of the capital region Manila, due to "decreased unrest".

Alert level 2 on a scale of 0-5 means "that there is a decreased unrest but should not be interpreted that unrest has ceased or that the threat of an eruption has disappeared", Xinhua news agency quoted the institute as saying.

It warned that "sudden steam-driven or phreatic explosions, volcanic earthquakes, ash fall and lethal accumulations or bursts of volcanic gas can occur".

On March 26, the institute raised the alert level to level 3 for the volcano island in Batangas province following a phreatomagmatic eruption.

The institute said it has recorded 86 small-magnitude and imperceptible volcanic earthquakes.

"Most earthquakes were generated by volcanic degassing from the shallow magma and hydrothermal region beneath the edifice," it added.

Villagers around the volcano are still prohibited from returning home despite the lowering of the danger level.

The government has evacuated over 7,000 people from 18 villages around the volcano.

Taal volcano, one of the most active volcanoes in the Philippines, last erupted in January 2020.

The last eruption displaced nearly 380,000 villagers and destroyed many farms, houses and roads in the province.