Heartbreaking photos show dogs and horses being rescued after Taal volcano eruption

Adrianna Rodriguez, USA TODAY

The violent eruption of the Taal volcano in the Philippines Monday has left images of a desolate landscape full of destroyed houses, a thick layer of ash and buried animal carcasses.

The nation’s disaster response team said that at least 30,000 people fled their homes that surrounded the country’s second most active volcano Monday. However, some have elected to go back to tend to or rescue their animals.

In one photograph, a man wearing a mask carries a dog to safety, cradling it like a baby as he walks along the street coated with ash. In other photos, residents lead frightened livestock to boats that float atop blackened waters.

An animal volunteer carries a dog he rescued from deserted homes near Taal volcano as residents evacuated to safer grounds leaving some of their pets behind in Talisay, Batangas province, southern Philippines on Wednesday Jan.15, 2020.
An animal volunteer carries a dog he rescued from deserted homes near Taal volcano as residents evacuated to safer grounds leaving some of their pets behind in Talisay, Batangas province, southern Philippines on Wednesday Jan.15, 2020.

Although no deaths have been reported, an estimated $10 million worth of crops and livestock have been damaged by the ongoing eruption, according to the country’s agriculture department.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology raised the alert level to four out of five, warning that another hazardous eruption could take place anytime. Yet residents have defied the agency’s warnings for years, violating laws against setting up homes in permanent danger zones on the island.

The area was declared government-protected and later a national park, meaning it should be off-limits to permanent settlers. However, that has never been enforced and the volcano’s destructive explosions have proven deadly in the past killing more than 200 people in 1965.

In this Jan. 14 photo, a horse stands next to damaged structure at the Taal volcano island in Talisay, Batangas province, southern Philippines.
In this Jan. 14 photo, a horse stands next to damaged structure at the Taal volcano island in Talisay, Batangas province, southern Philippines.
A resident fetches water at their volcanic ash covered village in Laurel, Batangas province.
A resident fetches water at their volcanic ash covered village in Laurel, Batangas province.

Philippine Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana warned that the “worse-case scenario” for Taal could be similar to the eruption of Mount Pinatubo, 90 miles to the north, that killed 800 people and rendered 200,000 homeless in 1991.

“We can never predict the actions of this volcano,” he said.

Taal is among two dozen active volcanoes in the Philippines. The country is part of the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” a seismically active region prone to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.

Contributing: John Bacon, USA TODAY; Associated Press. Follow Adrianna Rodriguez on Twitter: @AdriannaUSAT.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Philippines: Taal volcano eruption evacuees back to save dogs, horses