Taal's 'big bang' feared
Published Jan 20, 2020 12:00 am
By Alexandria San Juan
More than a week since Taal Volcano showed unrest, state volcanologists said there is a re-charge or resupply of magma underneath as intense activity in the volcano continued and may lead to a dangerous explosive eruption.
(Photo by Atty Dante T. Pamintuan | Ayala Westgrove Heights)
“Mayroon tayong nakikitang recharge o resupply ng magma na galing sa ilalim papunta doon sa volcano island. Kung umabot ito sa ibabaw, posibleng magdulot ito ng malakas na pagsabog (We are seeing a recharge or resupply of magma underneath and moving toward the volcano island. If this reaches the crater, it could cause an explosive eruption.),” Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) officer-in-charge Renato Solidum Jr. said on Monday.
The movement of magma or molten rocks beneath Taal edifice continues to trigger volcanic quakes within the volcano island, Solidum said.
In a press conference on Monday, Solidum said that 23 volcanic tremors were plotted by the Philippine Seismic Network (PSN) from Sunday morning to Monday morning, registered at magnitudes 1.2 to 3.8 with one event felt at Intensity I.
This brings the total number of volcanic earthquakes recorded to 714 since Taal's eruption in the afternoon of January 12. Out of this total, 176 were registered at magnitudes 1.2 to 4.1 and were felt at Intensities I to V.
Meanwhile, the Taal Volcano Network, which can record small earthquakes undetectable by the PSN, recorded 673 volcanic tremblors, including 12 low-frequency earthquakes.
“Such intense seismic activity likely signifies continuous magmatic intrusion beneath the Taal edifice, which may lead to further eruptive activity,” the state volcanology agency said.
Solidum pointed out that the activity on the surface crater of Taal has been maintained with “steady steam emission and infrequent weak explosions” observed in the past 24 hours.
The Phivolcs chief added that this activity has generated 500 to 1,000 meters tall and dispersed ash southwest of the Main Crater.
The emission of sulfur dioxide, which is a major gas component of magma, also remains high and was measured at an average of 4,353 tons a day.
These indicators, Solidum emphasized, still suggest that a possible hazardous eruption may occur within hours to days as Alert Level 4 remains over Taal Volcano.
Alert Level 4 stays
In a separate press briefing in Malacanang, Solidum said that they are still not recommending the lowering of the danger level of Taal as activities beneath the volcano is still ongoing.
“Hindi namin pwedeng ibaba ang alert level dahil sa kasalukuyang pamamaga ng bulkan at sa patuloy na pag-akyat ng magma. Hindi naman puwedeng sabihin na hindi na mangyayari yung posibleng pagsabog dahil nandyan pa rin yung threat (We cannot lower the alert level due to the current volcanic inflammation and the ongoing rise of magma. We also cannot say that the possible explosion will not happen as there is still threat),” he explained.
Solidum cited historical eruptions of Taal and mentioned that it is normal for the volcano to display an apparent “waning” of activities in the surface crater before its explosive eruption.
“Sa mga nakaraang pagsabog ng Taal Volcano, may mga apparent waning of activities sa ibabaw pero syempre hindi makikita ng tao yung nangyayari sa ilalim, na maraming paglindol at umaangat pa yung isla kaya may pressure (During the previous eruptions of the Taal Volcano, there were apparent waning of activities but of course the people could not see what was happening below – there are still earthquakes and the island continues to rise, an indication there is pressure),” he said.
Phivolcs strongly reiterates total evacuation of Taal Volcano Island and high-risk areas identified in the hazard maps within the 14-kilometer radius from the Main Crater and along the Pansipit River Valley where fissuring has been observed.
In a worst-case scenario, nearly 10,000 of policemen are ready for rapid deployment.
PNP chief Gen. Archie Gamboa said the policemen on standby practically come from various police units in Luzon, especially the areas near Batangas and Cavite provinces.
“The PNP disaster response operations now involve practically all Luzon-based Police Regional Offices and Search and Rescue-capable National Support Units,” said Gamboa on Monday.
Police forces have been at the forefront of calamity response since the eruption.
Local police forces in Batangas and nearby areas were tapped to conduct mandatory evacuation while some were tapped to rescue abandoned animals.
Among those who were tapped to assist in Taal Volcano eruption response are the 1,335 policemen in Batangas and nearby areas whose own families were afected by the calamity.
So far, Gamboa said that a total of 1,821 police SAR personnel deployed in affected areas.
READ MORE: PNP places 10,000 personnel on standby for Taal deployment
No man’s land
The government will no longer allow people to live on the crater-studded island that's home to the erupting Taal Volcano, with officials warning that living there would be “like having a gun pointed at you.”
The simmering volcano has ejected smaller ash plumes for days after a gigantic eruption Jan. 12 sent ash drifting north over Manila. While a larger, explosive eruption is still possible and tens of thousands of evacuees remain in emergency shelters, officials have begun discussing post-eruption recovery.
Interior Secretary Eduardo Ano said officials in Batangas province, where the volcano is located, have been asked to look for a safer housing area, at least 3 hectares in size, for about 6,000 families that used to live in four villages and worked mostly as tourist guides, farmers, and fish pen operators on Volcano Island. The new housing site should be at least 17 kilometers away from the restive volcano to be safe, he said.
The island was long ago designated a national park that’s off-limits to permanent villages. The government’s volcano-monitoring agency has separately declared the island a permanent danger zone, but still, impoverished villagers have lived and worked there for decades.
“We have to enforce these regulations once and for all because their lives are at stake,” Ano said Sunday, adding that closely regulated tourism work could eventually be allowed on the island without letting residents live there permanently.
No more window hours
On Monday, Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Eduardo Año ordered an end to visiting hours within the 14-kilometer danger zone radius in the Taal Volcano area.
The DILG chief explained the measure is strictly being undertaken for the welfare of the public, saying “We don't know when that (Taal Volcano) will erupt.”
Local government officials allowed “window hours” when residents can go back to their homes in areas where the lockdown has been ordered to check their belongings and retrieve their valuables and important documents.
They also try to bring their pets and other animals left behind to safer ground if possible.
But Año thumbed down the window hours, saying there is “no logic" to it after the Phivolcs has warned numerous times that Taal Volcano may erupt anytime, within “hours or days.”
READ MORE: ‘No window hours’: Año orders strict enforcement of lockdown in Taal eruption danger zone
Other developments:
(Photo by Atty Dante T. Pamintuan | Ayala Westgrove Heights)
“Mayroon tayong nakikitang recharge o resupply ng magma na galing sa ilalim papunta doon sa volcano island. Kung umabot ito sa ibabaw, posibleng magdulot ito ng malakas na pagsabog (We are seeing a recharge or resupply of magma underneath and moving toward the volcano island. If this reaches the crater, it could cause an explosive eruption.),” Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) officer-in-charge Renato Solidum Jr. said on Monday.
The movement of magma or molten rocks beneath Taal edifice continues to trigger volcanic quakes within the volcano island, Solidum said.
In a press conference on Monday, Solidum said that 23 volcanic tremors were plotted by the Philippine Seismic Network (PSN) from Sunday morning to Monday morning, registered at magnitudes 1.2 to 3.8 with one event felt at Intensity I.
This brings the total number of volcanic earthquakes recorded to 714 since Taal's eruption in the afternoon of January 12. Out of this total, 176 were registered at magnitudes 1.2 to 4.1 and were felt at Intensities I to V.
Meanwhile, the Taal Volcano Network, which can record small earthquakes undetectable by the PSN, recorded 673 volcanic tremblors, including 12 low-frequency earthquakes.
“Such intense seismic activity likely signifies continuous magmatic intrusion beneath the Taal edifice, which may lead to further eruptive activity,” the state volcanology agency said.
Solidum pointed out that the activity on the surface crater of Taal has been maintained with “steady steam emission and infrequent weak explosions” observed in the past 24 hours.
The Phivolcs chief added that this activity has generated 500 to 1,000 meters tall and dispersed ash southwest of the Main Crater.
The emission of sulfur dioxide, which is a major gas component of magma, also remains high and was measured at an average of 4,353 tons a day.
These indicators, Solidum emphasized, still suggest that a possible hazardous eruption may occur within hours to days as Alert Level 4 remains over Taal Volcano.
Alert Level 4 stays
In a separate press briefing in Malacanang, Solidum said that they are still not recommending the lowering of the danger level of Taal as activities beneath the volcano is still ongoing.
“Hindi namin pwedeng ibaba ang alert level dahil sa kasalukuyang pamamaga ng bulkan at sa patuloy na pag-akyat ng magma. Hindi naman puwedeng sabihin na hindi na mangyayari yung posibleng pagsabog dahil nandyan pa rin yung threat (We cannot lower the alert level due to the current volcanic inflammation and the ongoing rise of magma. We also cannot say that the possible explosion will not happen as there is still threat),” he explained.
Solidum cited historical eruptions of Taal and mentioned that it is normal for the volcano to display an apparent “waning” of activities in the surface crater before its explosive eruption.
“Sa mga nakaraang pagsabog ng Taal Volcano, may mga apparent waning of activities sa ibabaw pero syempre hindi makikita ng tao yung nangyayari sa ilalim, na maraming paglindol at umaangat pa yung isla kaya may pressure (During the previous eruptions of the Taal Volcano, there were apparent waning of activities but of course the people could not see what was happening below – there are still earthquakes and the island continues to rise, an indication there is pressure),” he said.
Phivolcs strongly reiterates total evacuation of Taal Volcano Island and high-risk areas identified in the hazard maps within the 14-kilometer radius from the Main Crater and along the Pansipit River Valley where fissuring has been observed.
In a worst-case scenario, nearly 10,000 of policemen are ready for rapid deployment.
PNP chief Gen. Archie Gamboa said the policemen on standby practically come from various police units in Luzon, especially the areas near Batangas and Cavite provinces.
“The PNP disaster response operations now involve practically all Luzon-based Police Regional Offices and Search and Rescue-capable National Support Units,” said Gamboa on Monday.
Police forces have been at the forefront of calamity response since the eruption.
Local police forces in Batangas and nearby areas were tapped to conduct mandatory evacuation while some were tapped to rescue abandoned animals.
Among those who were tapped to assist in Taal Volcano eruption response are the 1,335 policemen in Batangas and nearby areas whose own families were afected by the calamity.
So far, Gamboa said that a total of 1,821 police SAR personnel deployed in affected areas.
READ MORE: PNP places 10,000 personnel on standby for Taal deployment
No man’s land
The government will no longer allow people to live on the crater-studded island that's home to the erupting Taal Volcano, with officials warning that living there would be “like having a gun pointed at you.”
The simmering volcano has ejected smaller ash plumes for days after a gigantic eruption Jan. 12 sent ash drifting north over Manila. While a larger, explosive eruption is still possible and tens of thousands of evacuees remain in emergency shelters, officials have begun discussing post-eruption recovery.
Interior Secretary Eduardo Ano said officials in Batangas province, where the volcano is located, have been asked to look for a safer housing area, at least 3 hectares in size, for about 6,000 families that used to live in four villages and worked mostly as tourist guides, farmers, and fish pen operators on Volcano Island. The new housing site should be at least 17 kilometers away from the restive volcano to be safe, he said.
The island was long ago designated a national park that’s off-limits to permanent villages. The government’s volcano-monitoring agency has separately declared the island a permanent danger zone, but still, impoverished villagers have lived and worked there for decades.
“We have to enforce these regulations once and for all because their lives are at stake,” Ano said Sunday, adding that closely regulated tourism work could eventually be allowed on the island without letting residents live there permanently.
No more window hours
On Monday, Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Eduardo Año ordered an end to visiting hours within the 14-kilometer danger zone radius in the Taal Volcano area.
The DILG chief explained the measure is strictly being undertaken for the welfare of the public, saying “We don't know when that (Taal Volcano) will erupt.”
Local government officials allowed “window hours” when residents can go back to their homes in areas where the lockdown has been ordered to check their belongings and retrieve their valuables and important documents.
They also try to bring their pets and other animals left behind to safer ground if possible.
But Año thumbed down the window hours, saying there is “no logic" to it after the Phivolcs has warned numerous times that Taal Volcano may erupt anytime, within “hours or days.”
READ MORE: ‘No window hours’: Año orders strict enforcement of lockdown in Taal eruption danger zone
Other developments:
- Power utility giant Manila Electric Company (Meralco) announced that it has already fully brought back electricity services to areas that had been whipped by ash fall.“As of 3 p.m. Sunday (January 19), 100% of Meralco’s main lines and circuits affected by the ash fall from the recent Taal eruption have been restored,” Meralco spokesman Joe Zaldarriaga said.
- Classes in Batangas remained suspended as classrooms are being used as evacuation centers. But the suspension of classes in other affected regions such as National Capital Region (NCR), Region III, and Region IV-B have been lifted, the Department of Education (DepEd) confirmed Monday. READ MORE: DepEd: Classes resume in some areas affected by Taal’s unrest
- Trade and Industry Secretary Ramon Lopez Monday assured the public that there will be a constant supply of N95 face masks and N88 surgical masks in the market with the help of Medtecs. Lopez and DTI Undersecretary and BOI Managing Head Ceferino S. Rodolfo met with Medtecs after the company gave 2,000 pieces of FFP2-N95 face masks and 100,000 pieces of N88 surgical face masks for donation to affected areas in Region IV-A through the DTI regional offices. Medtecs confirmed they will be supplied with 400,000 more pieces of FFP2-N95 face masks from their mother company abroad by next week. They also have two million pieces of N88 surgical masks available and ready for disposal. (With reports from AP, Aaron B. Recuenco, Chito A. Chavez, Myrna M. Velasco, and Bernie Cahiles-Magkilat) READ MORE: DTI assures supply of N95 masks