Volcano spews ash in Philippines amid fears of bigger blast

TAGAYTAY, Philippines — Philippine officials appealed Monday for desperate residents who were evacuated from towns endangered by the erupting Taal Volcano not to return to their homes because of the risk.

Thousands of villagers were evacuated Monday after the volcano’s sudden escalation of activity Sunday, with the state’s Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology warning of an imminent “hazardous eruption” that could cause a “violent tsunami” in the lake waters surrounding the volcanic island. The institute raised the alert level to 4 on a scale of 5 Sunday.

The initial explosion Sunday sent a plume of ash into the air in a spectacular sight that caught many by surprise in the communities around the volcano, which is about 40 miles south of Manila. Ash from the volcano blew into the capital city Monday.

The eruption forced flight cancellations at Manila’s main airport, while power was cut to large areas in the surrounding Batangas province. Overnight, earthquakes associated with the rumbling volcano rocked many areas. And rain compounded the deteriorating situation, turning the coarse ash into thick, solidifying mud that clung to cars, windows and roofs.

Angelica Sinfuego, 32, who is pregnant, said she walked for three hours Sunday with her two children, Genean, 12, and Xyrene, 10, to reach safety. She was forced to handle things on her own because her husband, Jainan, has gone abroad — in his case, to Saudi Arabia, where he is an automotive technician — to find work and make money.

“It was like the end of the world. I was praying, ‘Please protect the baby, please protect the baby,’ as we negotiated the darkness,” she said, speaking while sprawled on a gymnasium floor in Santo Tomas, where they were taken by troops who picked them up from the town of Talisay. “The afternoon...