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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
World
Sian Baldwin

Watch as cold lava flows through a Philippines town

This is the moment a Filipino town was left flooded after a volcano erupted this week.

Rivers of cold lava, which has a similar consistency to wet concrete, flowed through the streets of a local town following the “explosive eruption” taking place at Mount Kanlaon in the Philippines on Monday (June 4).

A plume of ash was shot five kilometres – around three miles – into the sky as the explosion erupted, which was then followed by the lava running through the streets like a river in Biak-na-Bato village, in Negros Occidental province.

As a result of the explosion, dozens of flights had to be cancelled and hundreds of people living in nearby towns were evacuated for their safety.

Authorities are now on high alert in the region and said further eruptions were possible. 

Cold lava – also known as lahar – is a mixture of volcanic material and pebbles which flows down the slope of a volcano in the rain, and travels quickly.

Stills Fernandez, a member of the disaster rescue team, said: "The lahar on the streets is knee-deep.

“A bulldozer and three dump trucks were deployed to remove the lahar after it stopped flowing, but it might take time to clear.”

There were no immediate reports of casualties.

Leah Martinez was a local who was there when it happened. She lives in the village of Masulog, which is also close to the volcano.

"Before the lahar flow, there was a thunder-like sound again," Martinez told news agencies.

She added: "I rushed outside. It was so loud, I thought the volcano had erupted again.

"We couldn't see anything at first, then there were large stones, ashes and water flowing down the river."

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