CAVITE, Philippines – The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) raised the alert status of Taal to Alert Level 2 on Tuesday morning after recording quakes and volcanic activities beneath the volcano.
According to the Taal Volcano Bulletin, the status was raised from Alert Level 1 (low level of unrest) to Alert Level 2 (increasing unrest) after the Taal Volcano Network recorded more than 30 volcanic activities beneath the volcano for the past 24 hours.
The agency also noted increased temperature in the Main Crater Lake (MCL) recording 74.6 degrees Celsius as well as a rise in acidity to pH 1.59 from a pH of 2.79 last January 2020.
The Alert Level 2 status portrays probable magma activity that may or may not lead to an eruption.
At present, PHIVOLCS is closely monitoring Taal’s activities while its island vicinity remains as a permanent danger zone.
It has been more than a year when Taal unleashed an unprecedented amount of ash in a Phreatomagmatic eruption (eruption resulting from magma and water interacting) last January 12, 2020, which displaced Batangueños and resulted in the suspension of classes, work schedules, as well as flights in the area.
Thumbnail photo via Brian Kairuz on Unsplash.
