By Joenald Medina Rayos
TALISAY, Batangas – LOCAL government units (LGUs) around the Taal Volcano island must strengthen their disaster preparedness as current developments in the country’s most active volcano are now increasing possibilities of magmatic eruption.
In an advisory of the Department of Science and Technology – Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (DOST-PHIVOLCS) released at 12:30 in the afternoon, Wednesday, the agency noted the ever increasing parameters like the dramatic increase to 2,015 volcanic tremors with 734 low-frequency volcanic earthquakes and 18 hybrid earthquakes since the volcano started to show unrest beginning February 13, 2021.
In the past week, sulfur dioxide gas emission has been generally high with a peak of 1,184 tonnes/day last Sunday, March 21. While ground deformation on the Taal Volcano Island (TVI) and the Taal Caldera region is generally remained steady and at slight inflationary trends, the overall seismic energy release has markedly increased since yesterday afternoon compared to previous seismic swarms.
With the Alert Level 2 (increased unrest) being maintained over Taal Volcano, the DOST-PHIVOLCS noted that the unrest is elevating and that phreatic explosions mas occur and thus post danger to both lives and properties.
For these developments, the LGUs concerned are being advised to consider reassessing their disaster preparedness plans and take extra precautions among residents in the caldera region while strongly recommending that entry to the TVI should be prohibited, even the mere feeding of fishes in the cages as possibilities of magmatic eruption is considerably increasing.|-BNN
