MANILA — Thicker steam-laden plumes were observed at Taal Volcano early Friday morning, but the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said it should not be a cause of worry for now.
Phivolcs Volcano Monitoring and Eruption Prediction Division head Mariton Bornas said the emission of steam meant that magma was rising underground and that it was heating up the ground water, which resulted in steam.
During past briefings, Bornas and Phivolcs director Renato Solidum said that the better gauge would be the tilting of the ground on volcano island and the energy of the volcanic earthquakes.
Based on Phivolcs’s Friday morning bulletin, from Thursday morning to Friday morning, the Taal Volcano Network detected 486 volcanic earthquakes in the area. Of this number, 4 were low-frequency earthquakes, which are linked to magma movement.
As of February 14, 2020
MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) downgraded Taal Volcano in Batangas from Alert Level 3 to Alert Level 2.
“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,” said Phivolcs.
At this point, if volcanic activity continues to ease for a “sufficient observation period,” then Taal could be further lowered to Alert Level 1. But if volcanic activity escalates, the volcano could be returned to Alert Level 3.
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