Thousands of residents in at least five barangays in Batangas were evacuated when “short-lived” phreatomagmatic bursts occurred at Taal Volcano on Saturday morning, March 26.

A phreatomagmatic activity occurs when magma or hot and molten rocks come into contact with the groundwater in a volcano.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said evacuation was immediately implemented in the high-risk barangays of Bilibinwang and Banyaga in Agoncillo town; Boso-Boso and Bugaan East in Laurel town; and Gulod in Calatagan town. These are all located within the seven-kilometer danger zone from the Taal Volcano Main Crater.

As of 1 p.m., NDRRMC spokesperson Mark Timbal said 160 families consisted of around 800 to 900 individuals were evacuated to five schools and one covered court in Agoncillo; while 81 families consisted of 222 individuals were rescued in Laurel town.

This, after a short-lived phreatomagmatic burst was monitored at the main crater of Taal Volcano at 7:22 a.m., according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs).

It was then followed by “nearly continuous” phreatomagmatic activity that generated plumes as high as 1,500 meters which were accompanied by volcanic earthquake and infrasound signals.

The Phivolcs raised the status of Taal Volcano to Alert Level 3 (magmatic unrest) following the continuous outbursts which means that evacuation is recommended in high-risk areas.

“Given the recent advisory from Phivolcs, raising the alert level from level 2 to level 3, our regional counterpart is continuously monitoring the situation,” the NDRRMC said in a statement.

Local government units (LGU) were advised by the disaster agency to monitor the swift evacuation of residents to avoid possible casualties.

"The Volcano Island is empty of people in view of its protected status. The fishermen in the Taal Lake were already evacuated by the PCG ," Timbal said.

As of writing, the NDRRMC has yet to provide data as to how many people were already evacuated in other affected towns.

PCG on ‘heightened alert’

Meanwhile, the PCG was placed on a “heightened alert” status by Admiral Artemio Abu, PCG commander, to ensure that personnel will be on the ground to assist in the evacuation.

“The PCG Station Batangas immediately dispatched one unit of a deployable response group (DRG) to monitor the situation and the following activities in Taal Volcano,” Abu said.

Abu also instructed the PCG Sub-Station Talisay and Sub-Station San Nicolas to implement a “force evacuation” of all fishermen and fish cage workers off the Taal Volcano Island.

Two trucks were also prepared by the PCG in Batangas for possible deployment to assist in the evacuation of the affected residents.