The 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 region’s 376,000 displaced villagers to return home.

A popular tourist destination just south of Manila because of its picturesque setting in the middle of a lake, Taal erupted on Jan. 12. It caused no known deaths but delivered an early crisis this year for one of the world’s most disaster-prone nations.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said the volcano’s condition had “generally declined into less frequent volcanic earthquake activity,” with “weak steam and gas emissions at the main crater.”

The government’s agency lowered the alert level from four to three, which means there is a “decreased tendency toward a hazardous eruption.” The highest level alert, five, would have indicated a major and much more dangerous eruption, though it did not reach that level.