TAAL Volcano was still restless on Saturday morning, with the volcano letting off at least three phreatomagmatic bursts, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said.
Phivolcs said Taal Volcano made three phreatomagmatic bursts at 10:25 a.m., 10:47 a.m., and 11:01 a.m. on Saturday, and also logged at 7:15 a.m. an active upwelling of hot volcanic fluids, which resulted in plumes that reached 2,400 meters high, producing volcanic smog or “vog” in the vicinity.
Phivolcs continues to maintain Alert Level 3 over the volcano, indicating “magmatic unrest” and making an eruption possible. Over a 24-hour period up to Saturday morning, Phivolcs recorded 48 volcanic tremors, including two volcano-tectonic earthquakes and six volcanic tremor events that lasted up to four minutes over the past 24 hours as of Saturday morning.
“Alert Level 3 (Magmatic Unrest) now prevails over Taal Volcano. At Alert Level 3, magma extruding from the main crater could drive explosive eruption. The public is reminded that the entire Taal Volcano Island is a permanent danger zone (PDZ), and entry into the island as well as into the high-risk barangays of Agoncillo and Laurel must be prohibited due to the hazards of pyroclastic density currents and volcanic tsunami should strong eruptions occur,” Phivolcs said.
Due to Taal Volcano’s unrest, around 1,500 people have already been evacuated from the towns near the volcano.
