Phivolcs reports five phreatic eruptions at Taal Volcano

MANILA, Philippines — Taal Volcano in Batangas exhibited increased volcanic activity with five phreatic eruptions occurring within a 24-hour period, according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs).

In its latest bulletin, Phivolcs reported that between 12 a.m. Friday and 12 a.m. Saturday, Taal experienced five phreatic eruptions, with one event lasting for 13 minutes.

A phreatic eruption, according to Phivolcs, is a steam-driven explosion that occurs when water, either below the ground or on the surface, is heated by magma, lava, hot rocks, or fresh volcanic deposits.

During the same monitoring period, a total of fifteen volcanic earthquakes, including six volcanic tremors, with durations ranging from two to four minutes each, were recorded.

Plumes reaching heights of up to 2,400 meters were observed drifting southwest and northwest.

On Friday, Phivolcs detected four discrete phreatic or steam-driven eruption events, observed between 9:45 a.m. and 3:22 p.m. through the Taal Volcano Network (TVN) at the VTMC (Main Crater) observation station.

Four (4) discrete phreatic or steam-driven eruption events were recorded by the Taal Volcano Network (TVN) from 0945H to 1522H, as seen on the VTMC (Main Crater) observation station.

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— PHIVOLCS-DOST (@phivolcs_dost) April 12, 2024

Despite the recent activity, Taal Volcano remains at Alert Level 1, signifying ongoing abnormal conditions and the persistent threat of eruptive activity.

Phivolcs advised against visiting Taal Volcano Island, particularly the Main Crater and Daang Kastila fissures.

Flying any aircraft near the crater remains strictly prohibited due to potential hazards posed by sudden steam or phreatic explosions, volcanic earthquakes, minor ashfall and gas emissions.