[PHOTO] Taal Volcano Covers Animals in Ash

The recent eruption of Taal Volcano in the Philippines spewed lava into the sky, leaving houses and trees blanketed by heavy ash. Half-buried horses and cows couldn't leave the island lay in black sludge or floating in the surrounding lake.

Ignoring authorities warnings to preserve away, several residents who lived near the foot of the volcano returned to tend or rescue their animals.

A stark video on Facebook - uploaded by the Philippine Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) - show animals with their hair, fur, and feathers coated with thick ash as people attempt to carry them to relative safety, even as Taal volcano, the second most active in the Philippines, smolders in the background.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) said Wednesday morning that the Taal stays at alert level four, that means an "explosive eruption is feasible inside hours to days."

The volcano, approximately 37 miles (60 kilometers) south of Manila, started out erupting on Sunday. Taal started sending ash up to nine miles (14 kilometers) into the air and prompting large-scale evacuations.

Three days after the eruption started, volcanic activity around Taal is ongoing. Fountains of lava generate dark gray, steam-laden plumes up to one kilometer (0.6 miles) high. Fissures or cracks have opened up in several regions and 466 earthquakes were recorded in view that Sunday. Volcanologists warn that further eruptions are possible.

Mariton Bornas, head of volcano tracking and eruption at PHIVOLCS, said on Tuesday these new strong, non-stop earthquakes the people in the area experience are because of the fissures, which means that magma this is still making its way out of Taal.

"As quickly as you've got lava being erupted into the system, it just takes a few infiltrating drops to create an explosive system. Or for the later magma to be extra gas-charged that it's miles currently," said David Phillips, head of the School of Earth Sciences at the University of Melbourne, Australia.

Possible mudslides due to rain washing piles of unconsolidated ash and the risk of the volcano's slopes slumping into the lake - which could cause a tsunami - are also expected.

Phillips said there is a wide variety of dangers related to volcanoes. "The threat of anybody of those is probably pretty low; however, it has shown huge activity lately -- so it is time for caution," stated Phillips.

Almost 500,000 people live within the 14-kilometer (8.7 miles) danger zone, and PHIVOLCS asked a "general evacuation" of all people in this location and issued advisory warnings for the ones in a larger place of 17 kilometers (10.6 miles).

More than 40,000 human beings from Batangas and Cavite provinces have sought refuge in 217 temporary evacuation facilities set up through authorities.

Some towns, including Talisay at the banks of Lake Taal, were positioned under lockdown by way of police and fireplace services, and evacuations are being enforced, says National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) spokesperson Mark Timbal.

"The advice to people planning to return is to follow the warning of the government and its agencies, which is to avoid going back," Timbal said.

One big subject for the ones within the vicinity is the potential health risks of breathing in the toxic volcanic ash -- which consists of microscopic shards of glass -- that has blanketed everything in sight.

Joseph Michalski, director of the Earth and Planetary Science division at the University of Hong Kong, said the shards of glass are risky to lungs. "[The ashes] can get lodged in there and make you pretty ill," Michalski said.

International resource institution Save the Children stated in an announcement that small children in evacuation facilities were affected by respiratory illnesses - including colds and coughs.

About 730 people in the town of Tanauan, Batangas are staying in a gym that has been transformed into an evacuation center. Families are dwelling in uncomfortable situations and slumbering on the hard floor.

Timbal stated that volcanic activity had been recorded at Taal as early as March 2019 and that residents and local government gadgets were aware that "a country of preparedness" changed into place. But "the speed of escalation changed into unexpected," he stated.

The volcano is surrounded by a lake, which is a famous tourist attraction and a number of the towns in the area are tourism hot spots. There are several enjoyment parks, lakeside accommodations and yacht golf equipment nearby.

The holiday city of Tagaytay, which lies close to the water's edge, is a popular getaway for Manila citizens who frequently take boats onto the lake and hike up the volcano.

Phillips said many of those landscapes are "stunning;" however, the area is "also probably deadly - it's that fatal enchantment."