Thousands of residents displaced by a Philippine volcano that erupted over the weekend were urged on Monday to avoid returning to their homes, despite a lull in volcanic activity, the dpa reported. Taal Volcano in Batangas province, 66 kilometres south of Manila, erupted on Saturday, spewing plumes of steam, gas and ash that reached as high as 3 kilometres. At least 5,693 residents from high-risk villages in the towns of Agoncillo and Laurel have been away from their homes since the weekend, said Lito Castro, head of the provincial disaster agency in Batangas. "The advice is still for the affected villages ... to remain evacuated," said Renato Solidum, director of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs). In the past 24 hours, no volcanic earthquake were recorded and the volcano's activity "was dominated by upwelling of hot volcanic fluids in its lake which generated plumes 1,000 meters tall," Phivolcs said. The alert at Taal remains at Level 3, which "means there is a magmatic intrusion at the main crater that may further drive succeeding eruptions," the agency added in its daily bulletin.
