Taal Volcano continues to spew steam plumes while volcanic activities such as gas emissions and tremors persist, signifying continuous movement of magma underneath the volcano.
In its latest bulletin issued yesterday morning, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology observed voluminous emission of dirty-white to white steam-laden plumes in Taal Volcano rising 800 meters high.
Apart from steaming, Phivolcs noted that volcanic quakes continued to jolt the volcano island which signifies the movement of magma beneath the Taal edifice.
One-hundred thirty-four volcanic earthquakes were plotted by Taal Volcano’s seismic monitoring network in its 24-hour observation period, including one low-frequency event.
Two of these events, Phivolcs said, registered at magnitudes 3.2 and 2.3 around 4:20 a.m. and 5:42 a.m., respectively.
The first temblor was felt at Intensity 4 in Laurel and Agoncillo, Batangas; Intensity 3 in Lemery, Batangas, and Intensity 2 in Tagaytay City.
“These earthquakes signify magmatic activity beneath the Taal edifice that could lead to eruptive activity at the main crater,” Phivolcs warned.
Alert Level 3 remains over Taal Volcano, which means there is a “relatively high unrest manifested by seismic swarms including the increasing occurrence of low-frequency earthquakes and or harmonic tremors where some events are felt.”
Phivolcs downgraded Taal’s danger status from Alert Level 4 to Alert Level 3 on Jan. 26, two weeks after its phreatic or steam-driven eruption which forced thousands of nearby residents to evacuate due to thick ash that blanketed their homes. (Ellalyn Ruiz)
