LUCENA CITY: Taal Volcano showed renewed activity as two minor phreatic eruptions and a spike in seismic events were recorded over the past 24 hours, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) reported Sunday (April 26).
In its morning bulletin, Phivolcs logged two steam-driven eruptions, locally known as “pusngat,” which lasted 10 minutes, from 1:57am to 2:07am.
The activity produced plumes rising about 150 to 200m, as captured by the volcano’s main crater IP camera.
The latest unrest marks the fifth minor eruption recorded at Taal this month. The volcano sits in the middle of Taal Lake in Batangas province.
Phivolcs earlier logged a one-minute weak phreatic eruption on April 21. Previous activity included a two-minute phreatomagmatic eruption on April 9, followed by a similar one-minute event on April 10, and a two-minute phreatic burst on April 6.
State volcanologists explained that a phreatomagmatic eruption occurs when water interacts with magma or hot volcanic material, triggering an explosive release of steam. A phreatic eruption, on the other hand, is a steam-driven explosion caused by water heated by magma, hot rocks, or volcanic deposits.
Alongside the eruptions, Phivolcs recorded a surge in seismic activity, with 25 volcanic earthquakes and 23 volcanic tremors lasting between one and 29 minutes—the highest single-day total this month. This followed a relatively quiet period, with only one earthquake recorded on Saturday and six the previous day.
Volcanic earthquakes are associated with magma movement beneath or near the volcano, while volcanic tremors are continuous low-frequency seismic signals that may indicate subsurface activity.
Phivolcs also measured “voluminous” sulfur dioxide (SO₂) emissions at 709 metric tons during the monitoring period.
No volcanic smog (vog) or upwelling of hot fluids in the main crater lake was observed.
Taal Volcano remains under Alert Level 1, indicating low-level unrest. However, Phivolcs warned that sudden steam-driven or phreatic explosions remain possible.
The agency reiterated that entry to Volcano Island, boating on Taal Lake, and flying aircraft near the volcano are strictly prohibited. - Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN
