Philippines on alert as Taal erupts

Precarious: A youth living at the foot of Taal volcano rowing an outrigger canoe while the volcano spews ash as seen from Tanauan town in Batangas province, south of Manila. — AFP

Talisay City: Lava and broad columns of ash illuminated by lightning shot from an erupting volcano south of the Philippine capital, grounding hundreds of flights amid an alert for a possible “explosive eruption”.

Homes and streets across the region surrounding the Taal volcano, which exploded to life on Sunday accompanied by a series of earthquakes, were coated in fine grit yesterday.