TAAL VOLCANO briefly erupted early Wednesday morning, October 1, but the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) has kept Alert Level 1 in place for the time being.
At 2:02 a.m., a minor phreatomagmatic eruption took place at the Main Crater of Taal Volcano Island, producing a plume that soared up to 2,500 meters high and drifted toward the northwest.
PHIVOLCS also reported that the temperature of the Main Crater Lake hit 68.7°C, while sulfur dioxide emissions were measured at 563 tons per day as of September 27. In its latest 24-hour monitoring report, the agency recorded two volcanic earthquakes.
Photo Courtesy: PHIVOLCS | X
Despite these events, state volcanologists clarified that the Cebu earthquake on Tuesday evening had no link to Taal Volcano’s minor eruption in Batangas early Wednesday.
“Wala pong connection ‘yung paglindol [sa Cebu] sa pagputok ng Taal Volcano,” PHIVOLCS director Dr. Teresito Bacolcol said in GMA Integrated News’ Unang Balita segment interview.
“Yung Taal Volcano, every now and then, at Alert Level 1, pumuputok talaga yun. Nag-aalburoto from time to time. In fact, we have more than 90 phreatic and phreatomagnetic eruptions since April last year,” he added.
PHIVOLCS reiterated its warning against entry into Taal Volcano Island—classified as a Permanent Danger Zone (PDZ)—especially around the Main Crater and Daang Kastila fissures, as well as the use of the lake for boating or aircraft flights near the volcano.
They continue to warn that steam-driven or phreatic or gas-driven blasts, volcanic earthquakes, minor ashfall, and dangerous accumulations or releases of volcanic gases are still possible.
