Phivolcs records more phreatomagmatic bursts in Taal Volcano
State volcanologists recorded more phreatomagmatic bursts in Taal Volcano in Batangas on Thursday.
The volcanic activities — caused by the interaction of water and magma at the crater— were logged at 6:47 a.m. and 6:08 p.m., according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs).
The earlier burst Thursday morning belched a 200-meter-high grayish column, Phivolcs said in its bulletin.
The latest activity was a smaller burst which generated a 50-meter-high plume, Phivolcs resident volcanologist Paolo Reniva told CNN Philippines.
Phivolcs said Taal also emitted high levels of volcanic sulfur dioxide, averaging 11,397 tons per day, and 60 volcanic quakes, including five explosion-type ones, in the 24 hours leading to the second phreatomagmatic burst.
On Wednesday, the institute observed six small, similar eruptions of Taal, one of the world’s smallest volcanoes located south of Metro Manila.
Taal’s first phreatomagmatic eruption on July 1 after more than a year of calm in volcanic activity prompted officials to raise the restive volcano’s alert level to the mid-range status and evacuate people living in high-risk areas in the towns of Laurel and Agoncillo.
“At Alert Level 3, magma extruding from the Main Crater could drive explosive eruption,” Phivolcs said then.
Phivolcs has a five-level alert system for volcanic activity, with level five as the highest, meaning a hazardous eruption is in progress.
CNN Philippines Correspondent Tristan Nodalo contributed to this report.
