Taal volcano in Philippines erupts, alert level remains at lowest

The Philippines' Taal Volcano near the capital region has erupted, the country's seismology agency said on Wednesday.

The agency did not immediately provide details on the extent of the eruption but said the alert level remained at the lowest on the scale.

Taal, located about 70 km (45 miles) south of central Manila, is one of the world's smallest active volcanoes and some of its previous eruptions have impacted the capital and air travel.

Despite standing at only 311 m (1,020-feet), it can be deadly and an eruption in 1911 killed more than 1,300 people.

In January 2021, thousands of people were evacuated after it spewed a 1 km (0.62 mile) high plume of gas and steam.

A year earlier, the Taal volcano shot a column of ash and steam as high as 15 km into the sky, forcing more than 100,000 people to abandon their homes and triggering widespread disruption in the capital.