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TAAL VOLCANO ERUPTION LATEST UPDATES

15 Jan, 2020 by Jill Viray

News and Updates as of January 15, 2020


ALERT LEVEL 4 IS STILL UP

Alert level 4 is still up over Taal Volcano as of Wednesday morning, which means that hazardous explosive eruption is possible within hours to days, Phivolcs said.

Phivolcs has recorded a total of 159 volcanic earthquakes since 5 a.m. on Tuesday until 5 a.m. Wednesday. About 28 of which were felt with intensities ranging from Intensity I to III.

“Such intense seismic activity probably signifies continuous magmatic intrusion beneath the Taal edifice, which may lead to further eruptive activity,” Phivolcs said in its 8 a.m. update.


AIR QUALITY IN METRO MANILA BACK TO NORMAL AFTER TAAL ASHFALL

DENR says air quality is good to fair in parts of Metro Manila, Central Luzon (Region 3) and Calabarzon (Region 4A), the regions most affected by Taal Volcano’s ashfall.


PHIVOLCS: EXPECT MORE TAAL VOLCANO ACTIVITY IN THE NEXT DAYS

Taal Volcano is not showing signs of slowing down two days after it started spewing ash, state volcanologists said on Tuesday.

Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology chief Renato Solidum said the ongoing ash eruptions continue to trigger volcanic earthquakes.

“As we speak, there are still earthquake events so we expect more activities in the next few days,” he told CNN Philippines.

He said the increased number and intensity of volcanic tremors occurring under the restive Taal pushed Phivolcs to raise the Alert level to 4 or “Intense Unrest” on Sunday.

He added the temblors will persist as magma continues to move up the crater, causing more volcanic explosions. Phivolcs has recorded 212 quakes since Sunday. Of this, 81 were felt by those near the area. It reached up to Intensity 5, categorized as strong shaking.

“Such intense seismic activity probably signifies continuous magmatic intrusion beneath the Taal edifice, which may lead to further eruptive activity,” Phivolcs said.

With hundreds of tremors recorded, Solidum explained the threat it poses to the houses situated in nearby areas.

“The danger from the earthquake events would be possible landslides on steep slopes like those on the caldera wall beneath Tagaytay Ridge. Houses with thick cover of ash might be affected by shaking as roof is heavier,” he said.

He added the Taal Volcano continues to let out steam from the newly-formed lateral vents in the northern side of the volcano, which were created after it spewed 500-meter lava fountains on Monday. He also said fissures have been found in Lemery and Talisay, Batangas. 

Taal’s activity may last from days to several months, based on its eruption history.

Authorities are closely monitoring the volcano as its hazardous eruption remains imminent.


FROM FISSURES TO SHOCKWAVES: 12 VOLCANIC HAZARDS TO WATCH OUT FOR

The picturesque and tourist favorite Taal volcano is now a source of fear, as state seismologists warn of an imminent hazardous eruption.

While Taal Volcano has shown relative calm on Tuesday, Alert level 4 remains on the island, with forced evacuation enforced within 14-kilometer radius from the craters. 

As experts look out for signs of a bigger eruption, here are other hazards the public must watch out due to Taal Volcano’s unrest. 

PYROCLASTIC FLOW

Pyroclastic flows refer to the downslope lethal flow of ash and rocks mixed with hot gases during a volcanic eruption. At a speed of more than 60 kilometers per hour, the turbulent mass of volcanic material and gas is enough to burn everything in its path. Such hot flows are responsible for the iconic and horrific statue-like remains of the people of Pompeii after the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79.

In the 2019 scientific journal article “A synthesis and review of historical eruptions at Taal Volcano,” written by Perla Delos Reyes and Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology’s Ma. Antonia Bornas, Dir. Renato Solidum and others, noted the devastating impacts of “pyroclastic density currents” from Taal volcano during its eruption in 1749, 1754, 1911 and 1965. They wrote that it is “the biggest threat in the case of renewed volcanic activity.”

Not often observed, base surges is a kind of pyroclastic flow that are fast expanding rings of turbulent mixture of fragments and gas at the base of ash plumes.

Its appearance is comparable to an atomic bomb explosion. While it is not as strong as a bomb explosion, Phivolcs’ Volcano Monitoring and Eruption Prediction Division chief Ma. Antonia Bornas said it is considered the “worst-case scenario for Taal.”

“It will devastate the lakeshore since it is able to cross from the main crater and over water,” she told ABS-CBN.

Base surges were actually first identified by geologists during the 1965 Taal volcano eruption. But it has happened before in Taal’s previous eruptions.

In their journal article last year, Delos Reyes and Bornas estimate that the base surge from the 1754 eruption, which is considered the worst so far, reached 16 kilometers or more.

LAVA FLOW

Phivolcs defines lava flow as the “stream-like flow of incandescent, molten rock material” from an erupted volcano. Any area buried in lava flow will be unusable for a long time because it hardens into rock.

The institute has monitored lava flow from the Taal volcano by Monday morning.

UP National Institute for Geological Sciences professor Carlos Arcilla said the lava flow is actually a “good sign” for Taal volcano since the release of magma means limited potential damage.

The current magmatic eruption of Taal is a “quiet type,” but a possible explosive eruption remains if the volcano spews more magma, UP Resilience Institute Executive Director Mahar Lagmay said.

ASH FALL

Hours after the Sunday eruption of Taal Volcano, its vicinity and as far as parts of Metro Manila saw ashfall, affecting road visibility and slowing down vehicles as Filipinos scampered for safety. 

The ash fall or the showering of fine-to-coarse grained volcanic material alarmed many, prompting panic buying of face masks all over the region.

The ash fall also grounded planes in Metro Manila.

“Silica (in the ash fall) melts when it is heated. It can stick to a jet engine and cause the stalling of an airplane,” Lagmay said

SHOCKWAVE

Shockwaves are created by explosive eruptions. It has been observed in Talisay and San Nicolas when Taal volcano erupted in 1911. The shockwave, which is a change in atmospheric pressure was described then as a strong wind “as if shot from the mouth of a gigantic cannon.”

Bornas said there were accounts of people being swept away by the acoustic gravity waves.

LAHAR

Lahar is defined by Phivolcs as the “rapidly flowing thick mixture of volcanic material and water usually generated along river channels by extreme rainfall.”

Those who witnessed images from the Mt. Pinatubo eruption in almost three decades ago would remember the devastating effects of lahar on Pampanga. In large amounts, it can bury infrastructure and kill people.

VOLCANIC GASES

Volcanoes can emit various toxic gases, releasing it into the atmosphere in the form of water vapor, hydrogen sulfide, sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, hydrogen chloride and hydrogen fluoride. These are gases trapped in the cavities of volcanic rocks or emanating directly from lava. It can also come indirectly from ground water heated by magma.

Lagmay said inhaling these gases in large amounts can be fatal. 

SECONDARY EXPLOSIONS

Phivolcs calls it “secondary explosions” when hot pyroclastic flow deposits at the base of the volcano come into contact with ground water.

LANDSLIDES

Landslides or debris avalanches occur when a large portion of the volcano collapses. This is usually triggered by the eruption or by an earthquake.

Lagmay said this can also trigger a tsunami.

VOLCANIC TSUNAMI

Unlike tsunamis caused by earthquakes, a volcanic tsunami or seiche is caused by the sudden displacement of water during a volcanic eruption or landslide. Such big waves can affect communities beside the shore.

The most destructive of recorded volcanic tsunamis was the 1883 explosion of Krataktau volcano in Indonesia, which killed almost 40,000 people because of the 135-feet waves generated by the explosive eruption.

FISSURE

In the journal article of Delos Reyes and Bornas, historical accounts recorded instances of “fissure eruptions,” especially during the initial stage of the 1965 eruption of Tall.

In 1911, historical accounts mentioned how “fissures opened in the ground amid horrifying roars, said fissures extending from the northern and northeastern beach of the lake as far as the neighborhood of the town of Calamba.”

Bornas said such fissures or the opening up of the ground is caused by the magma pushing its way out of the Taal volcano. Fissures often appear before an explosive eruption and then subside after it is over.

“The volcano is spewing material so there is empty space underground,” Bornas explained.

She said it has happened before in Lemery, Taal, San Nicolas, Talisay, and Tanauan in Batangas.

Bornas warned that houses can definitely be destroyed by such ground movements.

On Tuesday, a road crack was discovered in Lemery, Batangas.

EARTHQUAKES

Two other phenomenon already experienced during the current Taal volcano explosion are earthquakes and lightning.

Earthquake swarms are often detected before a volcano erupts. These are often low in magnitude and are not as destructive as earthquakes that are tectonic in origin.

LIGHTNING

Lightning was also seen around the ash plumes of Taal volcano on Sunday afternoon. Lagmay said these are caused by the expelling of ash.

“Those particles are very dense. It will go up and will rub against each other, resulting in an electric charge,” he said. The electrically charged particles are the ones that create lightning.

USGS said in its website that increased lightning activity during eruptions can pose hazards to power generation sites, substations, and transmission and distribution lines.



Protect yourself from ash fall.

A mask is a must when ash fall is present in the atmosphere.

Particles in the air are too tiny that regular surgical masks will be of little help, but in case you cannot get your hands on an N95 mask, reinforce your surgical mask by doing the following:

• Add two layers of tissue inside the mask to make it almost as effective as an N95 mask.
• Use a damp cloth or tissue as additional covers to your mouth and nose.
• Wear your mask with the white side out and blue side in, to ensure no particles are inhaled.


Data Sources: 
https://www.philstar.com/
https://cnnphilippines.com/
https://news.abs-cbn.com/
https://redcross.org.ph/

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