Pacquiao to help residents affected by Taal eruption

RESTIVE AGAIN | A plume of white smoke rises from Taal Volcano as viewed from Agoncillo town in Batangas province early morning on Saturday, prompting the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology to raise the volcano’s alert level from 2 to 3 to indicate magmatic unrest. —BRENDA RECADIO/CONTRIBUTOR

MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Manny Pacquiao has vowed to help residents affected by the phreatomagmatic eruption of Taal Volcano as he urged them to cooperate with authorities for their own safety.

The presidential bet gave the assurance after the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Philvolcs) raised Taal Volcano’s status to alert level 3 due to Saturday morning’s eruption.

“We hope that the people will cooperate with the authorities to ensure their safety,” Pacquiao said in a statement.

He added that they were “closely monitoring the situation and are ready to mobilize support if needed.”

In an advisory, Phivolcs said the volcano’s main crater generated a “short-lived phreatomagmatic burst, which was followed by nearly continuous phreatomagmatic activity that generated plumes 1500 meters accompanied by volcanic earthquake and infrasound signals.”

Alert level 3 means there is “magmatic intrusion at the main crater that may further drive succeeding eruptions.”

Residents of barangays Bilibinwang, Banyaga, Agoncillo, Boso-boso, Gulod and Bugaan East in Laurel, Batangas, were advised to evacuate while all activities on Taal Lake were stopped.

Phivolcs is closely monitoring if magma will rise from below and the speed at which it is rising since this might trigger a strong eruption.

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