The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) monitored several volcanic earthquakes in Taal and Kanlaon volcanoes in the past 24 hours.
In its volcano bulletin issued Saturday, March 6, Phivolcs said the Taal Volcano Network recorded 16 volcanic earthquakes, including six episodes of volcanic tremor having durations of one to three minutes.
The state seismology bureau also observed low-level background volcanic tremor that began at 9:29 p.m. on March 4 and lasted for approximately 20 hours.
Taal’s main crater also exhibited weak emission of steam-laden plumes from fumarolic vents that rose 5 meters high.
On the other hand, Phivolcs’ volcano's monitoring network in Kanlaon logged nine volcanic earthquakes during the 24-hour observation period.
“Ground deformation data from continuous GPS and electronic tilt measurements have been recording a slight inflation of the lower and middle slopes since June 2020,” the agency said.
“These parameters may indicate hydrothermal, tectonic, or deep-seated magmatic processes occurring deep beneath the edifice,” it added.
Both Taal and Kanlaon volcanoes remain under alert level 1.
This means that the volcanoes are currently at an abnormal condition and have entered a period of unrest, state seismologists explained.
It added that sudden steam-driven or phreatic explosions, volcanic earthquakes, minor ashfall, and lethal accumulations or expulsions of volcanic gas can occur and threaten areas within the Taal Volcano.