Philippine authorities on Sunday lowered the alert level at Taal Volcano, two weeks after it began spewing ash, steam and rocks, a move that will allow many of the more than 376,000 displaced villagers to return home.

An erupting Philippine volcano remains life threatening despite weaker emissions and fewer tremors, an official said Friday and advised thousands of displaced villagers not to return to the danger zone.

A Philippine volcano belched smaller plumes of ash but shuddered continuously with earthquakes and opened cracks in roads Thursday as police blockaded at-risk towns due to fears of a bigger eruption.

A volcano near the Philippine capital spewed lava, ash and steam and trembled constantly Tuesday on the third day of an eruption that could portend a much bigger and dangerous eruption, officials warned as tens of thousands of people fled ash-blanketed villages in the danger zone.