Rumbling volcano shuts down Philippine capital, thousands evacuated

More than 16,000 people were evacuated from the volcanic island and the area immediately around it - normally a popular tourist spot. Dozens of tremors set residents on edge

Schools and businesses shut across the Philippine capital on Monday as a volcano belched clouds of ash across the city and seismologists warned an eruption could happen at any time, potentially triggering a tsunami.

Thousands of people were forced to evacuate their homes around Taal, one of the world's smallest active volcanoes, which spewed ash for a second day from its crater in the middle of a lake about 70 km (45 miles) south of central Manila.
 

"The speed of escalation of Taal's volcanic activity caught us by surprise," Maria Antonia Bornas, chief science research specialist at the Philippine Institute of