STILL RESTIVE Volcanic smog or “vog” envelops Taal Volcano in Batangas province in this photo taken at 3:30 p.m. from Tagaytay City in Cavite on Sept. 9, 2024. The volcano, which remains under alert level 1, records an “upwelling of hot volcanic fluids” in the volcano’s main crater lake, according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology. —PHOTO COURTESY OF SHIELA TAN
LUCENA CITY — Taal Volcano in Batangas province had three phreatic or steam-driven eruptions on Sunday, according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs).
The eruptions lasted from one to three minutes long, Phivolcs said in its morning bulletin on Monday.
A phreatic eruption is a “steam-driven explosion that occurs when water, beneath the ground or on the surface is heated by magma, lava, hot rocks, or new volcanic deposits (for example, tephra and pyroclastic-flow deposits),” Phivolcs said.
However, the unrest is unlikely to progress into a magmatic eruption based on the background levels of volcanic earthquake activity and the detected ground deformation, Phivolcs emphasized.
During the past 24 hours, the state volcanologists also detected one volcanic tremor that lasted 10 minutes.
On Saturday, Taal Volcano also logged six volcanic tremors.
READ: Taal Volcano logs 12 earthquakes, 8 tremors in past 24 hours
The volcano recorded seven volcanic earthquakes accompanied by six volcanic tremors on Sept. 20
At least 12 earthquakes and eight tremors were also detected on Sept. 19, while on Wednesday, the volcano recorded three earthquakes and one tremor.
In its latest update, Phivolcs also reported the “voluminous emission” of 8,927 metric tons (MT) of sulfur dioxide, which rose 1,800 meters before drifting away in several directions.
During the latest monitoring period, authorities observed no harmful volcanic smog, or “vog,” over the volcano throughout the day.
However, the state volcanologist observed the continued “upwelling of hot volcanic fluids in the Main Crater Lake” of Taal Volcano Island (TVI), locally known as “Pulo,” which sits in the middle of Taal Lake.
Taal Volcano is still under alert level 1 (low level of volcanic unrest), Phivolcs said.
The agency reminded the public that Taal Volcano remained in an “abnormal condition” and “should not be interpreted to have ceased unrest nor ceased the threat of eruptive activity.” INQ