In the Philippines' Batangas province, the Taal volcano is spewing lava and blanketing the surrounding area with a thick layer of gray ash.
Authorities are anticipating a major eruption in the near future and have ordered the evacuation of everybody within 8.7 miles of the volcano's danger zone. According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), some 38,000 people have been evacuated to 75 evacuation centers. The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology has noted that new fissures near the volcano and an increase in volcanic earthquakes are possible signs that an eruption may occur in the coming days.
These pictures show what the government has declared as the "calamity zone," where life has frozen to a virtual standstill and ash has smothered all color from this once-vibrant tropical paradise.
Clouds of volcanic ash rise from damaged trees in Laurel in the Batangas province, Jan. 14.
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A resident clears volcanic ash from his roof in Laurel, Jan. 14.
Leila de Castro carries a statue of the baby Jesus, which she recovered from her sister's house, as she walks on a road covered with volcanic ash in Boso-Boso, Jan. 14.
A resident looks at a house damaged from volcanic ash in Laurel, Jan. 14.
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Residents briefly return home to retrieve belongings in Laurel, Jan. 14.
Inflatables floating on Taal Lake are covered with volcanic ash in Talisay, Jan. 14.
A resident inspects his ash-covered car in Laurel, Jan. 14.
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The roof of an ash-covered basketball gymnasium is left destroyed in Laurel, Jan. 14.
A police car is enveloped in volcanic ash in Talisay, Jan. 14.
A man walks on a road blanketed with volcanic ash in Tagaytay, Jan. 14.
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A horse's carcass is buried beneath volcanic ash near a cow's carcass floating on the shore near the Taal volcano, Jan. 14.
An ash-covered cow in the province of Batangas, Jan. 13.
Dead trees near the crater of the Taal volcano, Jan. 14.
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Houses near the Taal volcano are buried under ash, Jan. 14.
Footprints of different animals are seen on a road in Laurel, Jan. 14.
Buildings and houses are destroyed near the Taal volcano crater, Jan. 14.
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A resident cleans his roof, which was damaged by volcanic ash, in Boso-Boso, Jan. 14.
A volcanic ash–covered vehicle in Laurel, Jan. 14.
Residents clear their ashy roofs in Laurel, Jan. 14.
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Contact Gabriel H. Sanchez at gabriel.sanchez@buzzfeed.com.
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