Manila: The Philippine seismological agency called Thursday for the evacuation of thousands of people near a volcano south of Manila after an eruption sent steam and rock fragments hundreds of metres into the sky.

"Evacuation activities in high-risk villages as well as in other nearby municipalities in the province are ongoing," presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said in a statement. Roque said that the government has deployed military and police forces and vehicles to help move the affected residents away from the danger zone, reports Xinhua news agency. "We ask residents in the areas surrounding the volcano lake to remain vigilant, take precautionary measures, cooperate with their local authorities should the need for evacuation arise," Roque added.

Mark Timbal, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council spokesperson, said nearly 1,400 villagers in several towns have been evacuated since Thursday. The number of affected villagers could rise if unrest intensifies.

Thursday's explosions of the Taal volcano occurred while villagers were still recovering from the January 2020 eruption that blanketed the province and nearby areas with ash.

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