MANILA: A volcano erupted in the central Philippines on Monday, sending a huge ash column high into the sky as the government ordered the evacuation of surrounding villages.

Rising more than 2,400 meters (8,000 feet) above sea level on the central island of Negros, Kanlaon is one of 24 active volcanoes in the Philippines.

“An explosive eruption occurred at the summit vent of Kanlaon Volcano at 3:03 p.m. (0703 GMT) today,” the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said in a statement.

“All local government units are advised to evacuate the six-kilometer (four-mile) radius from the summit of the volcano and must be prepared for additional evacuation if activity warrants,” it added.

“Evacuations are ongoing” in four upland villages of La Castellana town, on the volcano’s southwest slope, municipal police officer Staff Sergeant Ronel Arevalo told AFP, adding he did not have the total number of residents to be evacuated.

La Castellana resident Dianne Paula Abendan, 24, used her mobile phone to take a video clip of a giant cauliflower-shaped grey mass of smoke billowing above the crater.

“These past few days we’ve seen black smoke coming out of (the) volcano. We were expecting that it would erupt anytime this week,” she said by phone.

Abendan said people rushed home to await evacuation orders, but added that the volcanic activity appeared to ease slightly about an hour later.

The seismology office said the plume rose to 3,000 meters above the vent, with red-hot ashes and other materials also falling on its southeastern slope.

The activity means “magmatic eruption has begun that may progress to further explosive eruptions,” it added.

In September hundreds of nearby residents had been evacuated after the volcano spurted thousands of tons of harmful gases in a single day.

The seismology office said Kanlaon has erupted more than 40 times since 1866.

In 1996 three hikers were killed due to ash ejection from the volcano.