Mass evacuation of Philippine villages underway after volcanic eruption

An explosive eruption occurred at the summit vent of Kanlaon volcano (Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology via AP)

About 87,000 people were being evacuated in a central Philippine region on Tuesday, a day after a volcano briefly erupted with a towering ash plume and streams of gas and debris hurtling down its western slopes.

The latest eruption of Mount Kanlaon, on central Negros island, did not cause any immediate casualties, but the alert level was raised one level, indicating further and more explosive eruptions may occur.