Taal mudflow affects Laurel, Batangas
Published Jun 8, 2020 12:00 am
By Kate Marajas and Aaron Recuenco
LAUREL, Batangas – At least 26 houses were affected when a mudflow hit Buso-Buso one of the barangays of Laurel town closest to Taal Volcano, a local official said Monday.
Residents living near Taal Volcano here experienced strong mudflow after heavy rains hit the area Sunday afternoon. (Photos courtesy of Leslie Ann Tenorio Pesigan / MANILA BULLETIN)
Joselito Castro, head of the Batangas Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO), said the mudflow was triggered by heavy rains that pounded Laurel town on Sunday.
“The rain started to pour around 3:20 p.m. here. At first I thought it was just a light rainfall, but suddenly it became strong,” recalled Leslie Ann Tenorio Pesigan, a resident of Laurel Batangas.
Pesigan did not know that the deposited ash will turn into a flood of mud.
“There were no damaged houses or displaced families. The mudflow just entered some of the houses in Barangay Buso-Buso,” Castro told the Manila Bulletin in an interview.
“The local residents with the help of the local and provincial government are now clearing the area of mud, including the roads,” he added.
Batangas Provincial Police Office director Col. Rex Malimban said the incident happened around 6 p.m. on Sunday and affected the residential area of Barangay Buso-Buso.
He said a large volume of water came from the mountainous areas of Barangay Buso-Buso and Barangay Gulod of Laurel town.
“The large volume of water carried the ash of Taal volcanic eruption. The flash floods concentrated at Laurel-Agoncillo road of Barangay Buso-Buso that lasted for almost an hour,” Malimban wrote in a text message to the Manila Bulletin.
He said there were no reported casualties related to the incident.
Buso-Buso was one of the severely affected during the eruption last January in terms of volume of ashfall and number of volcanic quakes.
Castro also clarified that it was not lahar which hit the residential area in Barangay Buso-Buso.
Quoting experts from the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS), Castro said it was water with mud and ashes that swept some areas in the barangay.
Pesigan told Manila Bulletin that her family haven’t recovered yet from the Taal Volcano eruption that occurred last January.
“Mudflows entered our house and we still don’t know how to overcome this. The relief goods that we also received were also soaked in mud flood,” Pesigan shared.
According to Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS), Alert Level 1 is still maintained over Taal Volcano.
As of this writing, the PHIVOLCS stated that in the past 24-hour period, the Taal Volcano Network recorded three volcanic earthquakes that are associated mainly with rock-fracturing processes beneath and around the edifice.
Residents are advised to observe precautions due to ground displacement across fissures, possible ashfall, and minor earthquakes.
Residents living near Taal Volcano here experienced strong mudflow after heavy rains hit the area Sunday afternoon. (Photos courtesy of Leslie Ann Tenorio Pesigan / MANILA BULLETIN)
Joselito Castro, head of the Batangas Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO), said the mudflow was triggered by heavy rains that pounded Laurel town on Sunday.
“The rain started to pour around 3:20 p.m. here. At first I thought it was just a light rainfall, but suddenly it became strong,” recalled Leslie Ann Tenorio Pesigan, a resident of Laurel Batangas.
Pesigan did not know that the deposited ash will turn into a flood of mud.
“There were no damaged houses or displaced families. The mudflow just entered some of the houses in Barangay Buso-Buso,” Castro told the Manila Bulletin in an interview.
“The local residents with the help of the local and provincial government are now clearing the area of mud, including the roads,” he added.
Batangas Provincial Police Office director Col. Rex Malimban said the incident happened around 6 p.m. on Sunday and affected the residential area of Barangay Buso-Buso.
He said a large volume of water came from the mountainous areas of Barangay Buso-Buso and Barangay Gulod of Laurel town.
“The large volume of water carried the ash of Taal volcanic eruption. The flash floods concentrated at Laurel-Agoncillo road of Barangay Buso-Buso that lasted for almost an hour,” Malimban wrote in a text message to the Manila Bulletin.
He said there were no reported casualties related to the incident.
Buso-Buso was one of the severely affected during the eruption last January in terms of volume of ashfall and number of volcanic quakes.
Castro also clarified that it was not lahar which hit the residential area in Barangay Buso-Buso.
Quoting experts from the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS), Castro said it was water with mud and ashes that swept some areas in the barangay.
Pesigan told Manila Bulletin that her family haven’t recovered yet from the Taal Volcano eruption that occurred last January.
“Mudflows entered our house and we still don’t know how to overcome this. The relief goods that we also received were also soaked in mud flood,” Pesigan shared.
According to Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS), Alert Level 1 is still maintained over Taal Volcano.
As of this writing, the PHIVOLCS stated that in the past 24-hour period, the Taal Volcano Network recorded three volcanic earthquakes that are associated mainly with rock-fracturing processes beneath and around the edifice.
Residents are advised to observe precautions due to ground displacement across fissures, possible ashfall, and minor earthquakes.