A Philippine volcano that has been spewing ash for days appeared to be calming down on Thursday, but seismologists said the danger of an eruption remained high and authorities warned evacuees not to return to their homes. Some residents took advantage of what they perceived as a lull in the activity of Taal, one of country's most active and deadliest volcanoes, to return home even though a 14 kms (nine mile) exclusion zone remained in place. "We are analyzing what this seeming calm of the volcano means," Maria Antonia Bornas, chief science research specialist at the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs), told reporters.