The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) urged the public on Friday night, July 2, to be vigilant against a major eruption of Taal Volcano, which it said was "possible" in the coming days.
In a virtual press briefing, NDRRMC Executive Director Ricardo Jalad said the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Philvolcs) has confirmed that a "more intensified" eruption is likely to happen based on the activities of Taal Volcano.
A major eruption could affect 1.1 million people in Batangas who are living near the volcano.
"Ang sabi ng Phivolcs, posible ang mas intensified na pagputok ng Taal Volcano. Ito ay isang scenario na sinasabing phreatomagmatic (magma and steam) eruption. May isa pang klaseng eruption na binanggit pero sa ngayon, nasa risk assessment pa lang tayo (According to Phivolcs, a more intesified eruption of Taal Volcano is possible. This is one scenario called phreatoagmatic eruption. There is another form of eruption that they were saying but right now, we are still conducting risk assessment)," Jalad said.
This was the same type of eruption that Taal exhibited last Thursday.
"Posible na sa phreatomagmatic eruption magbubuga ng malalaking bato, posibleng magkatsunami sa Taal Lake (It is possible that in case of a phreatomagmatic eruption, will emit big rocks which can possibly result to a tsunami in the Taal Lake)," he added.
Jalad said the NDRRMC has been closely coordinating with local government units (LGUs) in Batangas to ensure that there are no more residents staying at Taal Volcano Island (TVI), which was already declared as "no man's land" by President Duterte last year following the January 2020 phreatic (steam) eruption of Taal.
As of 6 p.m., Jalad said a total of 14,000 individuals were targeted to be evacuated in at least five barangays in Agoncillo and Laurel towns--both "high-risk" areas.
A total of 376 families or 1,495 individuals have been evacuated so far.
Meanwhile, P1.4 million worth of family food packs and P11 million worth of non-food items were pre-positioned by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in Calabarzon (Region 4A) to address the needs of the evacuees.
An additional P500,000 worth of food packs will also be sent on Friday night to Batangas; 300 units of family tents and 2,000 family food packs in Laurel town; and 1,500 food packs in Agoncillo town.
LPA
Weather experts from the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) were also working closely with Phivolcs to monitor the new low pressure area (LPA) that developed inside the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR), approximately 1,365 kilometers east of extreme northern Luzon.
Jalad said the rains brought by the LPA could mix with the ash plumes and rocks emitted by Taal Volcano and trigger a lahar flow.
"Iba't-iba ang wind direction with respect to Taal kasi alam naman nating ang hanging dala ng LPA umiikot counter-clockwise depende sa location ng LPA. Isa rin sa pinag-usapan kung ano ang magiging epekto ng hangin na ito sa mga ibubuga ng Taal Volcano (The wind direction is different with respect to Taal because we all know that the air brought by an LPA moves counter-clockwise depending on the location of the LPA. One thing we discussed is the effect of the air to the deposits that will be spewed by Taal Volcano)," Jalad explained.
"Kapag malakas ang ulan, talagang ibababa nito ang deposits ng ashes na nailuwa ng Taal noon pang pagputok last year. Baka hindi pa lahat 'yun bumaba (If the rain is strong, it will really bring down the ash deposits that were emitted by Taal when it erupted last year. Maybe not all of them have been brought down)," he added.