By Alec Go and Ryan Lesigues
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) on Thursday (July 1) afternoon raised the status of Taal Volcano from Alert Level 2 or increasing unrest to Alert Level 3 or magmatic unrest.
“At 1516H (3:16 PM) PST [Philippine Standard Time], Taal Volcano Main Crater generated a short-lived dark phreatomagmatic plume 1 kilometer-high with no accompanying volcanic earthquake,” the Phivolcs said today, July 1.
“This means that there is magmatic intrusion at the Main Crater that may further drive succeeding eruptions,” it added.
Phivolcs chief Renato Solidum said the situation must remain monitored for possible changes due to the accumulation of magma that contains more gas.
“Ang pagkakaroon ng phreatomagmatic eruption, ang mangyayari po niyan may halo na mainit na magma sa tubig. Malakas po ang pagsabog [na] mangyayari compared sa phreatic eruption na steam and bato lang,” he said.
Authorities have evacuated residents from the high-risk barangays of Agoncillo and Laurel, Batangas due to possible pyroclastic density currents and volcanic tsunami, as recommended by Phivolcs.
Among the areas that began the evacuation are Gulod, Boso-Boso, and Lakeshore Bugaan East in Laurel, and from Banyaga and Bilinbinwang in Agoncillo.
Data from the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council show that up to 3,523 families or 14,495 individuals have so far been evacuated.
During his speech in Antipolo on Thursday afternoon, President Rodrigo Duterte said there “is always an exigency measure of government” and advised the public not to panic.
“Mayroon na siya [Department of Social Welfare and Development] advance na mga warehouse for sa mga tulong. Pagka pumutok ang Taal, mayroon na doon, naka i-station na ang mga tulong nila,” he said.
Earlier this week, Phivolcs confirmed that the haze seen in some parts of the National Capital Region (NCR) partly came from Taal Volcano. – jlo
