By Ma. Cristina Arayata | Philippine News Agency
A minor phreatomagmatic eruption that lasted for 11 minutes was recorded in Taal Volcano, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said Wednesday night.
In an advisory, Phivolcs said the eruption occurred between 4:21 p.m. to 4:32 p.m., and resulted in a short black jetted plume followed by a 2,400-meter-high steam-rich plume.
“The phreatomagmatic event was likely driven by sudden contact of water with a small branch of shallow magma that has been in place beneath the Taal Main Crater and that has been degassing sustained levels of SO2 (sulfur dioxide) for the past three years,” the advisory reads.
Prior to this, the volcano had 18 phreatic events since Sept. 22.
SO2 emissions averaged 2,532 tonnes on Wednesday. The average SO2 emissions since January remain high at 6,712 tonnes per day.
Phivolcs said the background levels of volcanic earthquake activity and ground deformation detected at Taal indicate that unrest is unlikely to progress into a major magmatic eruption at this time.
Taal Volcano remains under Alert Level 1, which means sudden steam-driven or phreatic explosions, volcanic earthquakes, minor ashfall, and lethal accumulations or expulsions of volcanic gas can occur and threaten areas within the Taal Volcano Island (TVI).
Phivolcs strongly recommends that entry into TVI, Taal’s permanent danger zone, especially the vicinities of the main crater and the Daang Kastila fissure, must remain strictly prohibited.
Local government units are advised to continuously monitor and assess preparedness of their communities and undertake appropriate response measures to mitigate hazards that could be posed by long-term degassing and related phreatic activity.
Aviation authorities are likewise urged to advise pilots to avoid flying close to the volcano as airborne ash and ballistic fragments from sudden explosions and wind-remobilized ash may pose hazards to aircraft.