On Thursday, October 3, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said that authorities were monitoring the Taal volcano after its recent minor eruption.
Marcos stated that ongoing standard procedures would allow different government agencies to respond in case there were any changes of situation in the volcano.
“When the volcano erupts or the storm comes or magkalindol or whatever, they know what to do,” Marcos said to reporters in Pasig.
“What we have to do is to monitor the situation and continue to see where are the areas — kasi not every situation is the same. So, how do we adjust? Where are the areas that need special attention, where are the areas that are okay? So, ‘yun ang ginagawa namin ngayon,” he added. “You know, the people that we have there know what to do, that’s why I put them there.”
According to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, Taal has not shown any sign of activity after its phreatomagmatic eruption last Wednesday, October 2, and that not a single volcanic quake was recorded in the last 24 hours.
PHIVOLCS Director Teresito Bacolcol stated molten magma came in contact with water, causing the minor eruption. The phenomena lasted a total of 11 minutes and caused a 2,400-meter-tall plume.
“It’s a minor phreatomagmatic eruption. Hindi ito katulad nung nangyari noon 2020 na umabot ng 15 kilometers ‘yung eruption column natin. Ito ay 2 kilometers lamang,” Bacolcol told TeleRadyo Serbisyo.
Emissions of sulfur dioxide remained low at 2,532 on Wednesday, with no volcanic smog.
An alert level 1 remains hoisted over Taal, indicating possible gas-driven explosions, volcanic earthquakes, and minor ashfall.
The public has been warned by the PHIVOLCS Chief to look out for phreatic or steam-driven eruptions from time to time when hot volcanic materials reach the water.
Natural calamities such as earthquakes and volcanic activity are not uncommon in the Philippines due to its placement on the Pacific “Ring of Fire”, where tectonic plates hit below the Earth’s surface.
Photo Courtesy: Facebook/ Earth Shaker