Taal Volcano logs 2 minor steam-driven eruptions
LUCENA CITY—Taal Volcano in Batangas province on Saturday morning recorded two “minor successive phreatic or steam-driven” eruptions, according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs).
“The Taal Volcano Network (TVN) events were recorded between 8:50 a.m. to 8:52 a.m. and 9:09 to 9:12 a.m. based on visual and seismic records of the TVN,” the Phivolcs said in its advisory issued at 11 a.m.
The eruptions produced white steam-laden plumes that rose 350 meters above the main crater of Taal Volcano Island (TVI), locally known as “Pulo,” which sits in the middle of Taal Lake, before drifting west-southwest and southwest direction.
State volcanologists explained that the phreatic eruptions were “likely driven by the continued emission of hot volcanic gases at the Taal main crater and could be succeeded by similar phreatic activity.”
However, the Phivolcs emphasized that the “unrest is unlikely to progress into magmatic eruption” based on the background levels of volcanic earthquake activity and the detected ground deformation.
Lowest volume
On April 12, the volcano also had another phreatic eruption that lasted for 13 minutes. The event produced a white steam-laden plume that reached 2,400 meters tall.
Phivolcs defines phreatic eruptions as “steam-driven explosions that occur when water beneath the ground or on the surface is heated by magma, lava, hot rocks or new volcanic deposits (for example, tephra and pyroclastic-flow deposits).”
On Thursday and Friday, the volcano emitted its lowest volume of sulfur dioxide (SO2) for the year.
A total of only 2,104 metric tons (MT) of SO2 from Taal’s main crater was measured for the past two days. It was lower than the 2,516 MT of SO2 logged from April 15 to April 17.
On March 28 and March 29, the volcano released 18,638 MT of toxic gas, tagged as “the highest flux recorded this year.”
Phivolcs said the average SO2 emissions since January this year remain high at 9,698 MT a day and has been continuously degassing voluminous concentrations of the toxic gas since 2021.
Alert level 1
Authorities reminded the public that alert level 1 prevails over Taal Volcano, “which means that it is still in abnormal condition and should not be interpreted to have ceased unrest nor ceased the threat of eruptive activity.”
The Phivolcs said at alert level 1, sudden steam-driven or phreatic explosions, volcanic earthquakes, minor ashfall and lethal accumulations or expulsions of volcanic gas can occur and threaten areas within TVI.
Phivolcs also cautioned the public against going to Pulo and prohibits aircraft from flying near the crater.
TVI has been off limits to former Pulo inhabitants following the volcano’s major eruption in January 2020 that caused thousands of residents to flee and generated up to 3,000-m flumes that brought ashfall as far as Metro Manila.
