By Ethan Chua
Bulatlat.com

On January 12 of this year, Taal Volcano in the Philippines was placed on alert level 4 by the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs), meaning a hazardous eruption could happen within hours to days. As a result, nearly 380,000 individuals were affected by the risk of imminent eruption, with about 300,000 of them displaced, moving to nearby evacuation centers or outside shelters. At least 752 hectares of land, comprising mostly coffee farms, were damaged by falling ash, with at least P74 million worth of agriculture destroyed. In the wake of the eruption, several hundred earthquakes followed, with homes being lost and livelihoods being displaced by the aftershocks.