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 10:48 · Samuel Osborne]

"Activity in the past 24 hours has generally waned to weak emission of steam-laden plumes," the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology has said.

But the region remained just a notch down from the highest level of alert the agency could issue if the volcano erupts more violently.

[16 January 2020 11:12 · Samuel Osborne]

Although Taal is one of the world's smallest active volcanoes at only 311m high, its eruptions have been deadly. 

One eruption killed more than 1,300 people in 1911.

Taal has erupted more than 30 times in the past five centuries, with the most recent in 1977.

[16 January 2020 11:41 · Samuel Osborne]

A farmer has described the scene of devastation after ash from the Taal volcano blanketed his pineapple field. 

"We just have to accept that we will incur a loss," Jack Imperial, 49, who had never seen such a sight in 17 years of farming, told Reuters. "Even if we are able to harvest some pineapples, if customers are scared to come because of the eruption, the pineapples would just end up rotting."

[16 January 2020 12:12 · Samuel Osborne]

There is an "urgent need" for clean water, latrines and access to basic healthcare among the hundreds of thousands of people who have fled the volcano, said Jerome Balinton, humanitarian manager for Save the Children Philippines.

Mr Balinton said: “At least 300,000 people have been evacuated or displaced by the Taal volcano since Sunday, nearly half of them children, and we expect that number to rise. Entire towns and villages within the ‘danger zone’ have been abandoned and covered in hazardous volcanic ash. With the volcano island now declared a ‘no-man’s land’ by president Rodrigo Duterte, some 1,000 people who call it home may never be able to return.

“The sudden displacement of so many people is putting enormous strain on host communities. Many families are staying with friends or relatives while others are seeking refuge in cramped and unsanitary evacuation centres where the risk of disease is high, especially among children. There is urgent need for clean water, latrines and access to basic healthcare.

“Meanwhile, the volcano continues to erupt with scientists warning that the biggest eruption may be yet to come. Entire communities, many of whom rely on tourism, have already been devastated, forced from their homes and now robbed of their livelihoods.

“The children we’ve spoken to tell us that missing out on school is one of their biggest concerns. Save the Children is setting up two Child-Friendly Spaces in the affected areas staffed by childcare professionals, where children can learn and play while receiving emotional support to help them cope with their distress. We will also begin distributing sleeping mats, blankets, mosquito nets and other vital household items to displaced families.”

[16 January 2020 12:38 · Samuel Osborne]

Several local residents have returned to the danger zone around the Taal volcano to rescue the animals they had left behind.

Manolito Malaluan set out on a motorboat with a band of rescuers to ferry to safety two horses to safety on Tuesday.

"Both of them were neighing when they saw me," Mr Malaluan, 23, told Reuters, after reaching safer ground with his horses, named Cristina and Bakasan. "They were happy because I came back."

The horses were among 3,000 living on the island, most earning money for their owners by carrying tourists to the rim of the volcano crater.

[16 January 2020 13:12 · Samuel Osborne]

Many islanders depend on the survival of their animals, which often form the sole means of their livelihood. 

"We won't have food on our tables if not for them," Jun Despededa, 21, who used water from the lake to scrub volcanic ash from his horse's white coat, told Reuters. "I don't know what I would do now after what happened."

About 1,000 horses, as well as cows, goats and pigs were among the animals left behind by residents scurrying to safer areas for fear of a bigger eruption.

[16 January 2020 13:29 · Samuel Osborne]

One horse owner urged authorities to allow the rescue of as many animals as possible, taking advantage of what appeared to be a lull in volcano activity, but was rebuffed by the coast guard patrolling the lake.

Horses were among the more than 70 animals brought to safety since Wednesday by another group of rescuers, led by a police maritime unit, but it has since been told to halt its activities, because of the eruption threat.

Many of the horses that had made it out looked exhausted and hungry, with at least one barely able to stand.

[16 January 2020 13:56 · Samuel Osborne]

In a firsthand account of escaping from the Taal volcano, John Dan Ramos describes the ground shaking "every 20 to 30 minutes" and says "the air was thick with ashes" that "smelt like a mix of sulfur and gunpowder". 

[16 January 2020 14:35 · Samuel Osborne]

A 61-year-old seamstress has been sewing dozens of colourful masks and giving them to her neighbours in Lipa city for free.

Rosalina Mantuano, a seamstress for 45 years, began sewing the masks using scrap fabric after the Taal volcano began spewing giant clouds of ash into the air on Sunday.

"As a seamstress, I thought what if I made my own masks and give it away for free to those affected. That is what I did," Ms Mantuano, who makes 100 face masks a day, told Reuters.

Shortly after the eruption, supply of face masks dropped and prices increased to as much as five times the usual price. The Philippine trade ministry has threatened to sue businessmen and shutter their shops for raising prices to unreasonable levels.

Cloth donations poured in when people heard of Ms Manuano's efforts, she said.

She has since received cloth donations, allowing her to produce around 400 more checkered, flowery and striped face masks.

[16 January 2020 14:58 · Samuel Osborne]

Evacuees are wondering how long they will have to wait before finding out whether Taal volcano will devastate the region or fall back into a slumber.

"It's all in God's hands now. We are not sure if we will have a home to return to," Leonita Gonzales, 52, who fled with the rest of her household from the danger zone around Taal, told Reuters.

Her banana palms were destroyed by the ash that fell after the volcano started to gush smoke on Sunday. She is uncertain whether her home's tin roof will be able to bear the weight either.