Philippine officials ordered a crackdown Monday on people being allowed daily visits to the homes they fled after Taal volcano erupted, citing threats it could still explode at any time.

Over 110,000 people have taken refuge in evacuation centres since Taal burst to life a week ago, but many hard-hit towns have permitted people in to fetch items, feed livestock and clean up their houses.

"We are directing DRRMCs (civil defence officers)... not to allow anyone to enter the danger zone," said Epimaco Densing, undersecretary for the Department of Interior.

"It's dangerous, that's why we have imposed a lockdown," he told reporters.

The volcano shot ash 15 kilometres (nine miles) high in the January 12 eruption, which crushed scores of homes and killed livestock as well as crops.

However, seismologists have warned the volcano could imminently unleash a much bigger blast, putting at risk the lives of anyone in the 14-kilometre (nine-mile) radius "danger zone" that surrounds it.

"The threat remains. It has not waned," Renato Solidum, head of the Philippines' seismological agency, told reporters.

He said the volcano might be spewing less ash that it was a few days ago, but the magma that would fuel a big eruption is still coursing toward it.

Until experts deem the threat has passed, the evacuees will need the shelters spread across some 400 sites that range from school campuses to covered basketball courts.

Authorities say they have so far been able to provide fundamental services to the evacuees, including a place to sleep, eat and wash.

"We can handle the (current evacuee numbers). The issue is how are we going to sustain resources over the longer term," Alex Masiglat, spokesman for disaster relief in the ground zero Calabarzon region.

"Our concern is how are we going to sustain a long term evacuation period," he added.

Though no people have been reported killed in the eruption, it has wrought havoc on agriculture and tourism.

Taal is set in the middle of a picturesque that is a popular draw for tourists, especially because it is a mere 60 kilometres south of the hot and crowded capital Manila.

Lost and damaged: Philippine volcano steals livelihoods
Amadeo, Philippines (AFP) Jan 18, 2020 - Decimated fish, scarred coffee plants and vanished tourists: the Taal volcano eruption in the Philippines has inflicted significant damage on the livelihoods of tens of thousands and is expected to cause more.

When Taal exploded to life Sunday it spewed towering columns of fine grey ash, which officials said destroyed crops and killed off potentially tonnes of fish raised in the lake that rings the volcano.

"We lost a lot of money because all our fish are gone," said Cesario Rodriguez, 34, a fish farmer. "We just need to find a way to survive."

It didn't help either when government health officials warned people not to eat the fish as it could have been contaminated with volcanic sulphur, though the nation's health agency told AFP no formal ban is in place.

The warning of a further, potentially catastrophic eruption, also led authorities to urge the thriving tourism industry near the volcano -- a popular attraction -- to suspend activity as a precaution.

The nation's seismological agency has issued its second-highest alert, saying Taal could unleash an "explosive eruption" at any time.

With scores of bookings cancelled and many restaurants and hotels shuttered, the eruption will hurt, but no one knows how much yet.

"It going to be negative... 90 percent of the tourism establishments in Tagaytay are closed," said Elinia Sanggalang, a local tourism official, referring to the resort town with stunning views of the volcano.

- 'We're still lost' -

The town alone draws about 5.5 million tourists per year, in part because it is a mere 60 kilometres (37 miles) south of the hot and crowded capital Manila.

Estimates of the harm to farmers and fishermen are already coming in to focus, and authorities say the amount could grow.

The agriculture agency said Friday it estimates so far the volcano caused about $59 million in damage to the industry, which is just about four percent of what the region produced in 2017.

In the Philippines life is already hard for those who have not benefitted from the nation's rapid growth in the past decade. Millions still live on less than $2 a day.

However the pain for some, like coffee growers, will take years before it can be fully calculated.

That's because it takes about two years for coffee plants to mature and begin bearing fruit, said Arnold Bay, an official with a cooperative of about 150 small growers.

There are already signs their plants were heavily damaged, though they hope to still harvest some of their crop.

"It will be difficult for us and for our clients," said Bay. "It will take two years for the farmers to have their livelihood back."

The process of recovering is far from started, especially for the over 60,000 people forced out of homes near the volcano and into evacuation centres.

They can't go home while the threat of a new, powerful eruption remains, so they will live in limbo for now.

"We don't know what to do next," Dandy Belencio, 43, a fish vendor whose home was destroyed in the eruption.

"We're still lost on what will happen to us," he told AFP.

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Philippines says danger high despite volcano 'lull'
Tagaytay, Philippines (AFP) Jan 16, 2020
The threat of the Philippines' Taal volcano unleashing a potentially catastrophic eruption remains high, authorities warned Thursday, saying it was showing dangerous signs despite a "lull" in spewing ash. Scores of earthquakes rattle the region daily and large fissures are opening up in the ground, which means the magma that would fuel a major eruption is still flowing beneath. Authorities are struggling to keep evacuees, some 50,000 of whom fled to shelters after Taal burst to life Sunday, away ... read more