Taal logs minor eruption

A minor phreatomagmatic eruption occurred at the main crater of Taal Volcano early Thursday, generating a plume that rose 1,200 meters above the crater, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) reported.

In a statement, Phivolcs said speed-up camera footage captured the eruption at 4:25 a.m. The plume was recorded by the Daang Kastila and Lower Circuit Calauit monitoring cameras.

Phivolcs’ 24-hour monitoring report, covering midnight Wednesday to midnight Thursday, recorded two minor phreatomagmatic eruptions at Taal, each lasting two to three minutes. The volcano also registered a sulfur dioxide flux of 575 tons per day on Wednesday.

Minor eruption

Phivolcs-Taal Volcano Observatory resident volcanologist Paolo Revina told the DAILY TRIBUNE on Thursday that phreatomagmatic eruptions occur when water interacts with magma.

He said the event was considered minor because it was small or weak compared with Taal’s January 2020 eruption.

During the 2020 event, Phivolcs raised Taal’s alert level to Level 4 on 12 January. The volcano initially exhibited phreatic, or steam-driven, activity before progressing to a magmatic eruption the following day.

The eruption generated a massive ash plume that brought ashfall to parts of Batangas, Laguna, Cavite and Metro Manila.

An estimated 459,300 people lived within the 14-kilometer danger zone, while approximately 24,500 were displaced.

Taal remains under Alert Level 1. Revina urged the public to follow Phivolcs advisories and stay away from the volcano island’s permanent danger zone.