Taal Volcano logs 20 quakes, 9 tremors lasting 2 to 7 minutes

LUCENA CITY — Taal Volcano in Batangas recorded increased seismic activity over the past 24 hours, following a brief phreatomagmatic eruption on Thursday, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said.

In its Saturday morning (Oct. 10) bulletin, Phivolcs reported 20 volcanic earthquakes and nine episodes of volcanic tremor, lasting two to seven minutes.

The latest figures marked a significant increase from the previous day’s monitoring, when a total of only nine volcanic earthquakes and one tremor were logged during the past nine days.

Article continues after this advertisement

No seismic events were recorded on Oct. 1, 3, 4, 5 and 7.

FEATURED STORIES

NEWSINFO

NEWSINFO

NEWSINFO

Phivolcs explained that volcanic earthquakes are generated by magma-related processes beneath or near an active volcano.

On the other hand, volcanic tremors are continuous, low-frequency seismic signals that may persist for more than a minute.

The heightened seismic activity followed a five-minute phreatomagmatic eruption at 6:06 p.m. on Thursday.

The eruption generated a plume that rose about 4,000 meters above the main crater lake on Taal Volcano Island, located at the center of Taal Lake, based on images from the volcano’s Internet Protocol (IP) surveillance camera.

Article continues after this advertisement

Thin ashfall affected the southwestern lakeshore towns of Agoncillo, Lemery and San Nicolas, as well as Taal and nearby areas.

During the latest monitoring period, Taal Volcano also emitted 2,406 metric tons of sulfur dioxide.

Article continues after this advertisement

The gas plume rose about 900 meters above the volcano, an emission activity that Phivolcs classified as moderate.

No volcanic smog, or vog – or the upwelling of hot volcanic fluids in the main crater lake – was observed during the monitoring period.

Despite the increased seismic activity, Taal Volcano remains under Alert Level 1, indicating low-level volcanic unrest.

Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.

Your subscription has been successful.

Nevertheless, Phivolcs stressed that the current alert status does not mean volcanic unrest has ended or that the possibility of hazardous activity has been eliminated. /apl