Volcanic eruption of Philippines' Mount Kanlaon rains ash on villages

One of the Philippines' most active volcanoes erupted on Tuesday, sending ash up to 4,000 metres into the sky.

The explosion of Mount Kanlaon on central Negros island, one of the country’s 24 most active volcanoes, has raised health concerns due to ashfall that hit nearby villages. However, there have been no immediate reports of casualties.

The 2,435-metre volcano's previous eruption last October sent hundreds of villagers fleeing to emergency shelters.

While the volcano is currently on alert level 3, with alert level 5 being the highest, the Philippines is among the countries most prone to natural disasters.

It is usually hit by about 20 typhoons and storms a year, and is located in the so-called Pacific “Ring of Fire”, an approximately 40,233km-long chain of volcanoes and seismically active regions surrounding the Pacific Ocean.

According to National Geographic, it is where 90% of earthquakes occur, and is home to 75% of the world's volcanoes.

Video editor • Lucy Davalou