By Pearl Gumapos
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) on Saturday (Jan. 29) recorded eight weak explosions in the main crater of Taal volcano.
“The Taal Volcano Network recorded eight very weak phreatomagmatic bursts form the Taal main crater between 3:50 p.m. to 9:57 p.m.,” the Phivolcs Taal volcano advisory said.
“These events were very short-lived, lasting only 10 seconds to two minutes and produced only traces in the seismic record but were accompanied by distinct infrasound signals,” the advisory added.
Steam-rich plumes reaching 400 meters to 900 meters were also detected by visual and thermal cameras surrounding Taal lake.
The advisory then reminded that Alert Level 2 prevails over Taal Volcano and that such gas-driven explosions and lethal accumulations or expulsions of volcanic gas can occur and threaten areas within and around Taal Volcano Island. – bny
