Lava and broad columns of ash illuminated by lightning spewed from a volcano south of the Philippine capital on Monday, grounding hundreds of flights as authorities warned of a possible "explosive eruption".

Fine grit weighed down trees and turned roads into muddy messes across the region surrounding the Taal volcano, which burst to life Sunday and has forced over 20,000 people to seek refuge in evacuation centres, a provincial governor said.

Geologists said the volcano remained active, spurting red-hot lava some 500 metres (1,600 feet) into the air from new cracks that have opened in its northern flank, as accompanying earthquakes rattled the area.

"We are really scared of what might happen to us... that our house might collapse in a strong earthquake and that we'll all be killed by falling debris," said Bienvenido Musa, aged 56.

"Who wouldn't be scared? That's why I decided to send my family to an evacuation centre."

Taal is a tourist attraction that sits in a picturesque lake, yet is also one of the most active volcanoes in a nation where earthquakes and eruptions are a frightening and destructive part of life.

The Philippines sits on the Pacific "Ring of Fire", where tectonic plates collide deep below the Earth's surface.

Schools in the region around Taal, some government offices in Manila and the Philippine Stock Exchange were closed as authorities issued warnings against breathing the ash.

Stores quickly sold out of dust masks, which health officials said could help protect against potentially harmful effects of the powder-like soot.

"I'll just stay at home and tie a handkerchief around my face. I think that's OK," Manila resident Menchie Claveria said, after attempting to buy a mask.

Limited flight operations resumed mid-Monday at Manila's main international airport, nearly a day after authorities halted them due to the safety risk volcanic ash poses to planes.

However, travellers booked on over 240 cancelled flights still faced delays at Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

"I'm disappointed because this (delay) means additional expense for me and it's tiring to wait," said stranded traveller Joan Diocaras, a 28-year-old Filipino who works in Taiwan.

"But there's nothing we can do."

- Alert level raised -

The eruption began with an explosion of superheated steam and rock, but by early Monday "fountains" of lava had been spotted on Taal, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said.

Stunning lightning shows have periodically played out above the volcano in a little-understood phenomenon that has been attributed to static electricity.

Authorities raised the volcano alert level to its second-highest on Sunday, saying an "explosive eruption" could happen in "hours to days".

Phivolcs chief Renato Solidum told AFP the lava was evidence of fresh movement in the volcano, but said it was unclear if Taal would "sustain its activity".

Apart from the ash, some particles up to 6.4 centimetres (2.5 inches) in diameter, larger than a golf ball, had reportedly fallen in areas around the lake, Phivolcs said.

Taal's last eruption was in 1977, Solidum said.

Two years ago, Mount Mayon displaced tens of thousands of people after spewing millions of tonnes of ash, rocks and lava in the central Bicol region.

The most powerful explosion in recent years was the 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo, about 100 kilometres northwest of Manila, which killed more than 800 people.

Dazzling and deadly: Five facts about volcanoes
Manila (AFP) Jan 13, 2020 - The eruption of a volcano near the Philippine capital has delivered a dazzling but highly dangerous spectacle since it began spewing superheated steam on Sunday.

Taal volcano's bursts of lightning and monster clouds of ash have drawn crowds of gaping observers, but also prompted thousands to flee from its fury.

Here are five facts about the mix of beauty and terror that volcanoes produce:

- Lightning -

Large eruptions sometimes put on a stunning display of lightning strikes that illuminate the massive cloud of ash surrounding them.

This has happened repeatedly above the Taal volcano and been captured in videos shared widely across social media.

It is a relatively unusual and difficult to study phenomenon, so there is some scientific dispute about how and why it happens.

One theory posits that particles bashed together in the chaos of the eruption create static electricity which eventually results in lightning.

However, Indriati Retno Palupi, a volcanologist and geologist, told AFP lightning can be created when ashes containing chemical elements react with gasses in the surrounding air.

- Tsunamis -

A violent eruption could trigger a deadly rush of waves by displacing water with rising magma or an avalanche of debris, according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs).

In fact, the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens in the US state of Washington produced a 780-foot (235-metre) tsunami, according to the International Tsunami Information Center.

The wall of water was unleashed by the partial collapse of the volcano's flank and a fast-moving avalanche of debris.

- Million volcanoes? -

Around 1,500 potentially active volcanoes are present around the world, many of which are found on the Pacific "Ring of Fire", where tectonic plates collide deep below the earth's surface.

However, around 75 percent of volcanic activity on Earth occurs underwater. Undersea eruptions, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration say, are "a constant process that shapes the features of the ocean".

Oregon State University geologists estimate there could be as many as a million Called "submarine volcanoes".

- Global cooling -

The 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo, about 100 kilometres (60 miles) northwest of Manila, was the Philippines' most powerful in recent years and killed more than 800 people.

However, the eruption had worldwide impact.

Nearly 20 million tons of sulfur dioxide were shot skyward by Pinatubo, which then drifted globally.

"This gas cloud... caused global temperatures to drop temporarily (1991 through 1993) by about 1F (0.5C)," according to a US Geological Survey account of the eruption.

On top of the cooler temperatures, the gases and ash sent high in the sky by Pinatubo also caused "brilliant sunsets and sunrises", USGS said.

- Indonesia's killer volcanoes -

Indonesia is the world's most volcanic area.

The Southeast Asian archipelago of more than 17,000 islands and islets -- and nearly 130 active volcanoes -- is situated on the Pacific "Ring of Fire".

In 1815, Mount Tambora on the island of Sumbawa exploded in one of the most violent eruptions in recorded history. An estimated 12,000 people died, while a resulting famine killed another 80,000.

The island of Krakatoa was practically wiped off the map in 1883 by a volcanic explosion so powerful that it was heard some 4,500 kilometres (2,800 miles) away.

Around 36,000 people were killed in the eruption and the resulting tsunami. A new volcano emerged in 1928 on the same site.

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Ash pours from Philippine volcano, halting flights
Manila (AFP) Jan 12, 2020
The Philippines was on alert Monday for the "explosive eruption" of a volcano south of Manila, which officials said could be imminent after a massive column of ash forced a halt to flights at the capital's main airport. Taal volcano, a popular tourist attraction set in the centre of a picturesque lake, spewed ash, rumbled with earthquakes and exploded with lightning above its crest. Thousands of people living nearby were evacuated from their homes, but other locals weighed whether or not to fl ... read more