After 43 years of awakening and erupting again, this volcano has forced 8,000 people to evacuate, all flights were delayed due to Manila airport being forced to close.

On January 12, the Taal volcano, about 65 km from the capital Manila of the Philippines, “awakened” and became active again. This is a tourist destination among 16 places on the planet designated by scientists as dangerous. When the eruption occurs, the crater releases a lot of ash into the atmosphere and is accompanied by fears of a tsunami.

Residents living around the area have been ordered to evacuate after the emergency alert was raised to level 4, meaning “a massive eruption could continue for hours to days.” More than 8,000 people have been evacuated from the island, and 6,000 are now safely outside the danger zone.

Experts have also issued a tsunami warning for the Taal Lake area. And the eruption also produced a lot of lightning, an extremely rare phenomenon where dust particles rub against each other to form a cloud of static electricity.

All flights in and out of Manila airport were grounded due to the sudden eruption. General Manager Ed Monreal said the suspension would last until Monday when the ash subsides.

The Taal Volcano last erupted in 1977 and it erupted again 43 years later, forcing many residents to evacuate. However, it has also attracted a lot of attention from tourists because of the majestic, picturesque view it creates in the middle of Taal Lake.

There have been no reports of injuries or stranded tourists. Authorities have also warned people to prepare masks due to the huge amount of ash emitted from the crater. Authorities have also recorded a number of aftershocks as the volcano began to erupt.

Located on the Pacific Ring of Fire along with about 24 active volcanoes in the Philippines, Taal is considered one of the smallest volcanoes in the world. However, it has been dubbed the “volcano of the decade” because of its history of eruptions, destruction and death.