MANILA, Philippines — Travel to Tagaytay City remains safe despite recent phreatomagmatic activity of Taal Volcano, according to the state seismology bureau Phivolcs on Monday, October 7.
The volcano continues to exhibit low-level unrest, maintaining an Alert Level 1 classification.
Phivolcs Director Teresito Bacolcol said on Monday that people still need to exercise caution by using face masks to protect themselves from potentially inhaling volcanic ash, fumes and gasses.
“It’s safe to go to Tagaytay. People just need to bring face masks to protect themselves in case of another eruption, or in case of ashfall or sulfur dioxide emission,” he said.
Under Alert Level 1, Phivolcs warns of the potential for steam-driven or phreatic explosions, volcanic earthquakes, minor ashfall and emissions of volcanic gas.
People are advised to avoid entering Taal Volcano Island or the Permanent Danger Zone.
What is a phreatic eruption? A phreatic eruption happens when groundwater or surface water meets hot magma or volcanic rocks, generating steam without ejecting any magma.
What is a phreatomagmatic eruption? A phreatomagmatic eruption, on the other hand, is quite the inverse of phreatic eruptions.
This happens when magma interacts with water, producing a more explosive eruption that includes volcanic ash and sometimes lava.
Eruptions. As of Tuesday, October 8, Phivolcs logged a total of two phreatic eruption events, each lasting approximately one to four minutes.
This marks an increase from Monday’s advisory, which indicated only one small phreatic eruption lasting about one minute.
However, the number of phreatic and phreatomagmatic eruptions has largely decreased since the Sunday, October 6 advisory, which recorded a total of six events.
Volcanic earthquakes. There were also eight volcanic earthquakes and one volcanic tremor that lasted two minutes.
Sulfur dioxide flux. The state seismology bureau’s advisory on October 5 reported a sulfur dioxide flux rate of 2,000 tonnes per day, with emissions reaching heights of up to 900 meters.
As of October 5, Phivolcs reported a total of 30 minor eruptive events since September 22.
Each advisory details events that occurred in the previous 24 hours, from 12 a.m. of the day before to 12 a.m. of the day the advisory is issued.
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