Existing cracks near Taal Volcano widen as it continues to emit steam
People take photos of a phreatic explosion from the Taal volcano as seen from the town of Tagaytay in Cavite province, southwest of Manila, on January 12, 2020. BULLIT MARQUEZ/AFP via Getty Images. Sketched by the Pan Pacific Agency.
MANILA, Jan 17, 2020, PhilStar. Existing fissures in areas near Taal Volcano widened by a few centimeters, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said Friday. In its 8 a.m. update, the state seismic network said existing cracks in barangays of Lemery, Agoncillo, Talisay and San Nicolas in Batangas province have been observed to widen, The Philippine Star reported.
Alert level 4 is still raised over the volcano, which means that hazardous explosive eruption is possible within hours to days.
The volcano’s main crater continued to emit steady steam and infrequent weak explosions in the past explosions.
The latest emissions generated dark gray ash plumes 100 to 800 meters high and dispersed ash southwest to west of the main crater, Phivolcs said.
Phivolcs also observed that the shoreline around the whole of Taal Lake has been receding.
From 5 a.m. on Thursday until 5 a.m. Friday, Phivolcs recorded 65 volcanic earthquakes, two of which with magnitudes 1.3 to 3.1 and were both felt at Intensity I.
It also noted that the Taal Volcano network recorded 944 volcanic earthquakes with 29 low-frequency earthquakes.
“Such intense seismic activity likely signifies continuous magmatic intrusion beneath the Taal edifice, which may lead to further eruptive activity,” Phivolcs said.
The towns of Laurel, Taal, Agoncillo and Talisay have been on lockdown to prevent people from entering the “off limits zone.”
The four towns are within the 14-kilometer danger zone, which is susceptible to ballistic projectiles, base surges and volcanic tsunami.
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