MANILA – The Batangas provincial government on Tuesday ordered the evacuation of residents in Taal Volcano Island due to the volcano’s “slightly increased” activity.
In its 8 a.m. bulletin, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said Taal Volcano was at alert level one or abnormal condition.
“Sudden steam-driven or phreatic explosions, volcanic earthquakes, minor ashfall, and lethal accumulations or expulsions of volcanic gas can occur and threaten areas within the Taal Volcano Island,” the agency said.
The Philippine Coast Guard said it was undertaking preemptive evacuation as a precautionary measure.
Phivolcs advised that entry to Taal Volcano Island, Taal’s Permanent Danger Zone or PDZ, especially the vicinities of the Main Crater and the Daang Kastila fissure, must remain strictly prohibited.
In the past 24-hour period, the Taal Volcano Network recorded 98 tremor episodes having durations of five to 12 minutes.
The agency reported slightly increased seismic activity and main crater lake changes at Taal Volcano on Monday.
The volcano, a picturesque crowd-drawer in the province south of Manila, erupted in January last year, displacing hundreds of thousands of residents in Batangas and nearby provinces. Its massive ash plumes covered much of the province in grey, with ash fall even reaching Metro Manila.(ABS-CBN News)
