Filipinos flee as volcano belches ash

About 20,000 Filipinos fled their homes on Monday as officials raised the alert on an active volcano.

Mount Mayon in the central Philippines has been spewing lava and boulders since last month. But three ash explosions on Monday morning had officials worried that a major eruption might be on the way.

Witnesses said the volcano emitted plumes of ash and gases reaching 800 metres high into the sky.

Disaster officials had previously estimated that about 60,000 people in Albay would have to leave the area in the event of a major eruption.

Mayon has erupted about 50 times over the last few hundred years, making it the most active volcano in the country. An eruption in 1841killed 1,200 people.