Taal volcano news – live: Cracks spotted in earth and more quakes spark fear of huge explosion as police extend blockade

Follow the latest updates as people return to their homes despite warnings

Lightning strikes as Philippines' Taal volcano erupts

A volcano in the Philippines has been shuddering continuously with earthquakes and opening cracks in nearby roads as police blockaded at-risk towns over fears of a bigger eruption.

More than 53,000 residents have fled their homes in the vicinity of the Taal volcano to take shelter in evacuation centres, though thousands more have refused to leave or have returned to check on their animals and possessions.

Many houses and farms have been damaged by volcanic ash since Taal, one of the country’s most active and deadliest volcanoes, began spewing lava and ash on Sunday.

Follow the latest updates

Key Points

• Volcano shudders continuously with earthquakes and opens cracks in nearby roads
• More than 100 tremors recorded since Wednesday
• 'We've lost everything,' local resident says
• Elderly woman dies of heart attack while being evacuated

[16 January 2020 20:56 · Vincent Wood]

Here's John Dan Ramos' account of escaping the ash plume from nearby Talisay, where he was attending a wedding.

It was 3am when I saw the lava erupting from the Taal volcano. Tensions grew and some guests broke down and cried. Others considered abandoning their cars and escaping by foot instead, but it was too dark and cold outside. There was still ash falling and the mud was thickening. We began to lose hope of going home.

Those were the longest hours of our lives. At 5am, we all felt the strongest quake yet. The chandeliers clanged and the glass window almost shattered. The children were in tears. We knew it was no longer safe to stay in the area. We went outside and began to clean the debris off the cars using a high-pressured water hose.

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