菲律賓塔爾火山（Taal）今天突然噴發火山灰和蒸汽，熔岩接著湧出，迫使數千村民逃離家園並停班停課，馬尼拉國際機場已關閉，數百航班停飛，估計恐有45萬人須撤離。
英國廣播公司（BBC）報導，位於菲律賓首都馬尼拉南方約65公里的塔爾火山今天清晨已開始噴發熔岩，當局警告「危險爆發」可能在數小時或幾天內發生。
● 已引發75起地震 恐數小時或幾天內大爆發
塔爾火山在岩漿流出前已噴出巨型煙柱與火山灰，當局隨即疏散附近8000居民。塔爾火山是菲國第二活躍的活火山，過去450年記錄到至少34次爆發，最近一次是在1977年。
當局還警告後續恐發生「火山海嘯」，即火山爆發後掉入海中的火山碎屑推動海水與產生大浪。
菲律賓火山暨地震研究所（Phivolcs）指出，塔爾火山附近區域已發生75起地震，當中32起震度較強；聯合國人道事務協調廳（UNOCHA）表示，估計住在離塔爾火山14公里內的危險區域者超過45萬人。
菲國總統杜特蒂（Rodrigo Duterte）辦公室已下令馬尼拉的政府機關與各級學校停班停課；菲國股市也宣布今天暫停交易。
英國「衛報」報導，火山地震研究所提醒，火山所位處的小島儘管多年來一直有漁村，但當地是「永久危險地帶」，強調火山14公里內的島上與沿岸區域應「全部撤離」，飛航官員須建議航班避免飛近火山。
● 火山14公里內屬「永久危險地帶」
美聯社和法新社報導，塔爾火山位於首都馬尼拉南方約65公里，昨天開始噴發，目前沒有人員傷亡或重大災損消息。
不過火山灰雲一路北漂到馬尼拉，迫使馬尼拉尼諾伊艾奎諾國際機場（Ninoy Aquino International Airport）關閉，目前有240多個國內外航班取消。
菲律賓民航局說，馬尼拉北方的克拉克（Clark）自由港區機場還沒關閉，但如果火山灰危及航班，有關當局也會關閉機場。
菲律賓政府災害因應單位表示，約有8000名村名撤到八打雁省（Batangas）和鄰省甲美地（Cavite）至少38處疏散中心，但官方預料人數還會增加。
部分居民因缺乏交通工具且能見度差，無法撤離火山灰籠罩的村莊。官員說有些人不願離開家園和農場。
菲律賓塔爾火山（Taal）昨天噴發且瀕臨爆發，迫使當局暫停往返首都馬尼拉尼諾伊艾奎諾國際機場（Ninoy Aquino International Airport）的班機，直到另行通知。
菲律賓火山暨地震研究所（Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology）警告，「危險的爆裂式噴發可能在數小時至數天內發生」。
法新社報導，距離馬尼拉都會區約70公里的塔爾火山昨天噴發火山灰雲高達1萬5000公尺後，菲律賓航空當局官員便下令暫停往返尼諾伊艾奎諾國際機場的航班。
起初菲律賓當局暫停尼諾伊艾奎諾國際機場的班機起降僅數個小時，但昨天稍晚又宣布，將持續暫停班機起降，直到另行通知為止。
路透社報導，馬尼拉國際機場管理署總經理蒙瑞爾（Ed Monreal）表示，今天還會繼續暫停航班，因為尼諾伊艾奎諾國際機場的跑道上仍有火山灰。
菲律賓航空及交通當局的聯合聲明指出，交通部長杜加德（Arthur Tugade）已經指示航空官員「採取一切必要措施維護公共安全」。聲明還提到，他們打算今天早上重新評估情況。
(CNN)Philippines authorities have urged a “total evacuation” of nearly half a million people near the capital Manila, after a volcano spewed ash up to nine miles (14 kilometers) into the air Sunday prompting warnings of a possible “explosive eruption.”
The Taal Volcano, about 37 miles (60 kilometers) south of the capital Manila on the island of Luzon, is one of the country’s most active. Images from the scene on Monday showed streams of lava beginning to gush out the volcanic vent, the sky above still thick and dark with ash clouds.
The Philippines Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) has raised the alert to Level 4, meaning an “explosive eruption” could happen in the coming hours or days. Its highest alert is Level 5, indicating an eruption is taking place.
The volcano isn’t actually very big — but it’s considered among the world most dangerous, owing to the number of people that live in its immediate vicinity, said Erik Klemetti, a volcanologist at Denison University.
PHIVOLCS has requested a “total evacuation” of those within a 17-kilometer (10.6 miles) radius around the volcano. This area, considered a volcanic danger zone, is home to more than 450,000 residents, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
As of Monday, more than 16,400 people had sought shelter in evacuation centers set up by the authorities. The total number of evacuees is likely to higher, however, with many people choosing to relocate to relatives’ homes.
Aid organizations like the Red Cross are also assisting the evacuation operation by sending rescue vehicles and supplies.
Residents within the evacuation radius are most at risk from the immediate effects of an eruption, including a possible volcanic tsunami in the lake surrounding the volcano, according to PHIVOLCS. The lava now beginning to erupt is also dangerous, Klemetti said — it’s creating “a big lava fountain” that could then cause hot ash and lava to spill into nearby towns.
However, ashfall from the volcano poses a threat for residents far outside the 17-kilometer area. There are 10 cities and municipalities surrounding the volcano, some lying outside that evacuation radius — and they are home to nearly 760,000 people, PHIVOLCS said on Monday.
On Sunday, the volcanic ash spread as far as Quezon City north of Manila, prompting the suspension of all flights at the capital’s international airport. Though the ash isn’t considered toxic, it holds shards of fine glass that can contaminate air and water supplies, said Klemetti.
Photos from the aftermath on Sunday show ash mixing with rain, creating that a thick black sludge that blanketed cars, streets, and homes in some towns. Ash is even heavier than snow, meaning excessive pile-ups, especially when mixed with rain, can causes roofs to collapse.
More than 25 million people live within 100 kilometers (62 miles) of the volcano and could face the effects.
The volcano has seen powerful eruptions before — one eruption in 1754 lasted six months, and its deadliest eruption took 1,335 lives in 1911. It erupted again in 1965, killing 190 people, and continued to have four more minor eruptions in the decades since.
Mariton Bornas, chief of volcano monitoring at PHIVOLCs, said that the agency had monitored tremors at the volcano as early as March 2019 — but they were surprised by the rapid speed of the eruption on Sunday.