Taal Volcano as seen from Tagaytay City 📷:Niño Jesus Orbeta/Philippine Daily Inquirer
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) on Saturday lowered Taal Volcano’s status to Alert Level 2.
Phivolcs said it has lowered the alert level of Taal Volcano from 3 to 2 “to reflect the overall decreasing trend in the level of monitoring parameters.”
According to Phivolcs, unrest at the Taal Volcano has “markedly declined” following the phreatomagmatic eruption on March 26 and six weak phreatomagmatic bursts until March 31.
The agency also said it has observed a significant drop in volcanic degassing from the main crater and volcanic earthquakes in the past two weeks.
“Alert Level 2 means that there is decreased unrest but should not be interpreted that unrest has ceased or that the threat of an eruption has disappeared. Should an uptrend or pronounced change in monitored parameters occur, the alert level may be raised back to Alert Level 3,” Phivolcs explained.
“At such time, people residing within areas at high risk to base surges who have returned after the step-down to Alert Level 2 must therefore be prepared for a quick and organized evacuation. Conversely, should there be a persistent downtrend in monitored parameters after a sufficient observation period, the Alert Level will be further lowered to Alert Level 1,” it added.
Phivolcs reminded the public that under Alert Level 2, sudden steam-driven or phreatic explosions, volcanic earthquakes, ash fall and lethal accumulations or bursts of volcanic gas can occur and threaten areas within the Taal Volcano Island and along its coast.