Residents panic as they feel the effects of the Taal Volcano eruption in the Philippines on January 12. The volcano spewed thick plumes of ash in the sky forcing more than 8.000 people to be evacuated. Taal is in the Batangas province, around 100km from the centre of Metro Manila, but even there residents felt the effects of falling ash. Clouds of ash in the immediate epicentre stretched 1km into the sky. While authorities raised the alert level, warning that a ‘hazardous eruption’ was possible within weeks. The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology warned residents living nearby of a possible ‘volcanic tsunami’. Flights were suspended at Manila's international airport because of the volcanic ash.