MANILA: More than 2,000 people have fled from a volcano eruption that has filled the air near the Philippine capital with toxic gas, officials said Saturday.
Taal volcano, which sits in a picturesque lake, has been belching sulfur dioxide for several days, creating a thick haze over Manila and several surrounding provinces, and prompting health warnings.
At least 2,400 people have left their homes since the government called for evacuations of hamlets on the lake’s shores, provincial disaster official Joselito Castro said.
“We expect more residents to evacuate over the coming days,” he said, adding that they were seeking refuge either in schools closed by the coronavirus pandemic or in the homes of relatives.
Taal lies just 50 kilometers (30 miles) south of Manila and for much of the past week has discharged volcanic smog that has blotted out the sun in the capital.
Civil defense officials have warned that upwards of 317,000 people could be vulnerable to toxic gas emissions from the volcano under the current eruption’s worst-case scenario.
Taal is one of the most active volcanoes in a nation hit periodically by eruptions and earthquakes due to its location on the Pacific “Ring of Fire” — a zone of intense seismic activity.
The last eruption there in January 2020 shot ash 15 kilometers (nine miles) high and spewed red-hot lava, crushing scores of homes, killing livestock and sending over 135,000 people into shelters.
More than 2,000 residents flee as Philippine volcano spews toxic gas
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More than 2,000 residents flee as Philippine volcano spews toxic gas
- Taal volcano lies just 50 kilometers south of the Philippines’ capital of Manila
- The last eruption there in January 2020 shot ash 15 kilometers high
Uganda to shut down Internet ahead of Thursday election: communication authority
- There was no statement from the government on the shutdown
- The officials said the authorities did not want to “own” the decision
KAMPALA: Uganda ordered an Internet blackout on Tuesday, two days ahead of elections in which President Yoweri Museveni is seeking to extend his 40-year rule.
“This measure is necessary to mitigate the rapid spread of online misinformation, disinformation, electoral fraud and related risks, as well as preventing of incitement to violence that could affect public confidence and national security during the election period,” the Uganda Communications Commission said in a letter to Internet providers, verified by government officials to AFP.
There was no statement from the government on the shutdown. The officials said the authorities did not want to “own” the decision.
Uganda shut down the Internet during the last election in 2021 — a vote that was marred by widespread allegations of rigging and state violence against the opposition, led by singer-turned-politician Bobi Wine, who is running again for the presidency.
The government repeatedly promised that the Internet would not be shut down during the election, stating in a post on X on January 5 that “claims suggesting otherwise are false, misleading, and intended to cause unnecessary fear and tension among the public.”
The suspension was due to take effect at 6:00 p.m. local time (1600 GMT) and remain in force “until a restoration notice is issued,” the UCC said.
Essential state services were to be exempted from the ban, it added.
