The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) on Friday, Aug. 12, said the Taal Volcano in Batangas had spewed a “voluminous” plume that reached 2,800 meters or 2.8 kilometers high in the past 24 hours.
In its 8 a.m. bulletin, Phivolcs said the plume had drifted southwest, north, northeast, and southeast of the volcano’s main crater.
Moreover, Taal's sulfur dioxide or SO2 emission remained high, averaging 13,572 tons per day when it was last measured on Aug. 11.
In the past 24 hours, Taal also registered five volcanic tremors that lasted three to eight minutes.
Phivolcs said Taal Volcano remained under Alert Level 1, which means it was still in an abnormal condition and should not be interpreted to have ceased unrest nor ceased the threat of eruptive activity.
“Should an uptrend or pronounced change in monitored parameters forewarn of renewed unrest, the Alert Level may be raised back to Alert Level 2,” it said.
“Conversely, should there be a return of monitoring parameters to baseline levels after a sufficient observation period, the Alert Level will be further lowered to Alert Level 0,” it pointed out.
Under Alert Level 1, 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 Island (TVI).
“Phivolcs strongly recommends that entry into TVI, Taal’s permanent danger zone or PDZ, especially the vicinities of the main crater and the Daang Kastila fissure, must remain strictly prohibited,” it said.