MANILA, Philippines: A tiny volcano near the Philippine capital belched a plume of steam and ash into the sky in a brief explosion Thursday, prompting an alert level to be raised due to heightened risks to nearby villages.
Government experts said magmatic materials came into contact with water in the main crater of Taal Volcano in Batangas province, setting off the steam-driven blast with no accompanying volcanic earthquake. They said it’s unclear if the volcanic unrest could lead to a full-blown eruption.
“It’s just one explosive event, it’s too early to tell,” Renato Solidum of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology told a news conference.
The agency raised the alarm at 1,020-foot (311-meter) Taal, one of the world’s smallest volcanoes, to the third of a five-step warning system, meaning “magma is near or at the surface, and activity could lead to hazardous eruption in weeks.”
Alert level 5 means a life-threatening eruption that could endanger communities is underway.
Officials reminded people to stay away from a small island in a scenic lake where Taal is located and is considered a permanent danger zone along with a number of nearby lakeside villages.
Taal erupted in January last year, displacing hundreds of thousands of people and sending clouds of ash to Manila, about 65 kilometers (40 miles) to the north, where the main airport was temporarily shut down.
The Philippines lies along the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” a region prone to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. A long-dormant volcano, Mount Pinatubo, blew its top north of Manila in 1991 in one of the biggest volcanic eruptions of the 20th century, killing hundreds of people.
Philippine volcano belches plume of steam and ash, alert up
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Philippine volcano belches plume of steam and ash, alert up
- Officials reminded people to stay away from a small island in a scenic lake where Taal is located
Baby milk toxin risk ‘low’ after recalls: EU agencies
- Several manufacturers, including European giants like Nestle, Danone and Lactalis, have issued recalls of infant formula
- French authorities said last week they were aware of three deaths of infants
ROME: Widespread recalls of powdered milk for infants mean the risk of exposure to a toxin that can cause nausea and diarrhea are now low, two EU agencies said on Thursday.
“Given the large-scale recalls, the current likelihood of exposure to contaminated infant formula is low,” the European Food Safety Authority and the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control said in a statement.
But they said that “additional cases may still occur if recalled products remain in households rather than being returned.”
Several manufacturers, including European giants like Nestle, Danone and Lactalis, have issued recalls of infant formula that could be contaminated with cereulide in more than 60 countries since December.
French authorities said last week they were aware of three deaths of infants who consumed powdered milk affected by the recalls, and 14 hospitalizations.
But investigations are still underway and as yet no link has been established between the formula and the babies’ health, the health ministry said.
The EU agencies said that a total of seven countries in Europe had reported cases of babies with gastrointestinal symptoms following consumption of powdered milk.
The statement said cereulide had first been detected in December in batches of formula containing arachidonic acid oil from a producer in China.
The EFSA earlier said its scientists had suggested a maximum level for cereulide of 0.014 micrograms per kilogram of body weight.
This translated to 0.054 micrograms of cereulide per liter in infant formula, the Italy-based agency said.
