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Ghost towns around Taal as frightened thousands flee volcano

Article (news)

Katrina Domingo

Dennis Datu

Jeff Canoy

ABS-CBN News

<p>TALISAY, Batangas -- An ashen beach and toppled trees were all that remained of a popular wedding venue a short boat ride from Taal, one of many areas transformed into ghost towns overnight as thousands fled the volcano&#x27;s wrath.</p><p>Roads were shrouded in thick gray smoke as evacuees, their heads wrapped in cloth, clambered onto pick up trucks. Markets and offices in city centers were shut with a &quot;hazardous&quot; eruption possible, according to authorities.</p><p>Rains were expected in the ash-covered provinces of Batangas, Cavite, and Laguna, threatening to turn the debris into mud. A state of calamity was declared in Batangas, which will allow authorities there to tap emergency funds and freeze prices of basic goods.</p><p>The ash clouds from Sunday&#x27;s eruption prompted the overnight closure of Manila&#x27;s main airport, where some 240 flights were canceled. It reopened at noon with ashfall seen to shift to Quezon province.</p><p>&quot;You could not sleep anymore, because every time you closed your eyes the house would shake,&quot; restaurant owner Lia Monteverde told AFP, describing the earthquakes that followed the eruption.</p><p>&quot;All of us didn&#x27;t sleep at all. We just prepared to leave.&quot;</p><p>At Balai Isabel, the popular wedding events venue, ash-covered the beachfront while tires of parked cars and SUVs were caked in mud.</p><ul class="op-related-articles"><li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/01/13/20/ash-blanket-stalls-travel-markets-as-thousands-flee-rumbling-taal">Ash blanket stalls travel, markets as thousands flee rumbling Taal</a></li><li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/01/12/20/taal-volcano-erupts-as-phivolcs-raises-alert-level-2">Alert level 4 raised over Taal, volcanic tsunami possible: Phivolcs</a></li></ul><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p dir="ltr" lang="tl">JUST IN: Idineklara na ang state of calamity sa buong probinsiya ng Batangas | via <a href="https://twitter.com/Dennis_Datu?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Dennis_Datu</a> <a href="https://t.co/eM8nK59SMM">pic.twitter.com/eM8nK59SMM</a></p>— DZMM TeleRadyo (@DZMMTeleRadyo) <a href="https://twitter.com/DZMMTeleRadyo/status/1216600926221242374?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 13, 2020</a></blockquote><div><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charSet="utf-8" type="text/javascript"></script></div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p dir="ltr" lang="tl">Hindi na halos makilala ngayon ang bayan ng Agoncillo, Batangas <a href="https://t.co/8BcTIuo6BN">pic.twitter.com/8BcTIuo6BN</a></p>— Dennis Datu (@Dennis_Datu) <a href="https://twitter.com/Dennis_Datu/status/1216557736827088901?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 13, 2020</a></blockquote><div><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charSet="utf-8" type="text/javascript"></script></div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Residents continue to flee their homes in Lemery, Batangas due to ashfall, fear of restive <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Taal?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Taal</a> volcano <a href="https://t.co/sJA7haFL0Z">pic.twitter.com/sJA7haFL0Z</a></p>— Jeff Canoy (@jeffcanoy) <a href="https://twitter.com/jeffcanoy/status/1216581016350949376?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 13, 2020</a></blockquote><div><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charSet="utf-8" type="text/javascript"></script></div><p>Agoncillo town was difficult to reach due to landslides in Laurel. Earthquakes caused a portion of a school there to collapse.</p><p>In Lemery, poor visibility due to ash clouds on the road made evacuation difficult.</p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p dir="ltr" lang="tl">May mga landslide na rin na naitala sa Agoncillo, Batangas <a href="https://t.co/H3NdRt1rbY">pic.twitter.com/H3NdRt1rbY</a></p>— Dennis Datu (@Dennis_Datu) <a href="https://twitter.com/Dennis_Datu/status/1216550491703758848?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 13, 2020</a></blockquote><div><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charSet="utf-8" type="text/javascript"></script></div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Here’s the situation in <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Lemery?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Lemery</a>’s town proper <a href="https://t.co/bkNoREf8fo">pic.twitter.com/bkNoREf8fo</a></p>— Jeff Canoy (@jeffcanoy) <a href="https://twitter.com/jeffcanoy/status/1216599432797384704?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 13, 2020</a></blockquote><div><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charSet="utf-8" type="text/javascript"></script></div><div><strong>DUST MASKS SOLD OUT</strong></div><p>Dust masks sold out in stores as authorities warned locals that the ash could cause respiratory problems especially in the very young and those with pre-existing lung conditions.</p><p>Limited flight operations resumed mid-Monday at Manila&#x27;s main international airport, nearly a day after authorities halted them due to the safety risk volcanic ash poses to planes.</p><p>However, travelers booked on over 240 canceled flights still faced delays at Ninoy Aquino International Airport.</p><p>&quot;I&#x27;m disappointed because this (delay) means additional expense for me and it&#x27;s tiring to wait,&quot; said stranded traveler Joan Diocaras, a 28-year-old Filipino who works in Taiwan.</p><p>&quot;But there&#x27;s nothing we can do.&quot;</p><ul class="op-related-articles"><li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/01/13/20/mercury-drug-replenishing-face-mask-supply-says-to-keep-price-unchanged">Mercury Drug replenishing face mask supply, says to keep price unchanged</a></li><li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/01/13/20/tips-how-to-use-clean-air-conditioners-in-case-of-ash-fall">TIPS: How to use, clean air-conditioners in case of ash fall</a></li></ul><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">LOOK: Tagaytay Picnic Grove covered in mud and ashes after Taal volcano eruption <a href="https://t.co/YVueBWOmAH">pic.twitter.com/YVueBWOmAH</a></p>— Kat Domingo (@_katrinadomingo) <a href="https://twitter.com/_katrinadomingo/status/1216502572355186688?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 12, 2020</a></blockquote><div><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charSet="utf-8" type="text/javascript"></script></div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Senator Francis Tolentino convenes Taal Volcano Interagency Coordination meeting to streamline rescue, relief efforts in parts of Cavite, Laguna and Batangas after Taal volcano eruption <a href="https://t.co/9xBxRjdWEu">pic.twitter.com/9xBxRjdWEu</a></p>— Kat Domingo (@_katrinadomingo) <a href="https://twitter.com/_katrinadomingo/status/1216517721925357569?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 13, 2020</a></blockquote><div><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charSet="utf-8" type="text/javascript"></script></div><div><strong>ALERT LEVEL RAISED</strong></div><p>The eruption began with an explosion of superheated steam and rock, but by early Monday &quot;fountains&quot; of lava had been spotted on Taal, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said.</p><p>Stunning lightning shows have periodically played out above the volcano in a little-understood phenomenon that is attributed to static electricity.</p><p>Authorities raised the volcano alert level to its second-highest on Sunday, saying an &quot;explosive eruption&quot; could happen in &quot;hours to days&quot;.</p><p>Phivolcs chief Renato Solidum told AFP the lava was evidence of fresh movement in the volcano, but said it was unclear if Taal would &quot;sustain its activity&quot;.</p><p>Government seismologists recorded magma moving towards the crater of Taal, which is located 65 kilometers south of Manila.</p><p>Apart from the ash, some particles up to 6.4 centimeters (2.5 inches) in diameter, larger than a golf ball, had reportedly fallen in areas around the lake, Phivolcs said.</p><p>Taal&#x27;s last eruption was in 1977, Solidum said.</p><p>Two years ago, Mount Mayon displaced tens of thousands of people after spewing millions of tonnes of ash, rocks, and lava in the central Bicol region.</p><p>The most powerful explosion in recent years was the 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo, about 100 kilometers northwest of Manila, which killed more than 800 people.</p><div><br/><strong> -- with report from Ron Lopez and Mikhail Flores, Agence France-Presse</strong></div>

<p>Roads were shrouded in thick gray smoke as evacuees, their heads wrapped in cloth, clambered onto pick up trucks. Markets and offices in city centers were shut with a "hazardous" eruption possible, according to authorities.</p>

Roads were shrouded in thick gray smoke as evacuees, their heads wrapped in cloth, clambered onto pick up trucks. Markets and offices in city centers were shut with a "hazardous" eruption possible, according to authorities.