Kanlaon Volcano in Negros Island appears calm in this photo taken at 6.30am on Jan 6, 2025. Communities at the foot of the volcano were told to remain on guard as Alert Level 3 (high level of volcanic unrest) is still in effect. - Photo courtesy of Jerick Ricaplaza
MANILA: Taal Volcano in Batangas registered a phreatic eruption before noon Friday (Jan 10), the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) reported.
Phivolcs told INQUIRER.net that the minor explosion, which lasted for three minutes, was recorded from 11.51am to 11.54am on Jan 10.
The state volcanologist, however, said it did not monitor any vog from the volcano’s crater.
A phreatic eruption is a “steam-driven explosion that occurs when water, beneath the ground or on the surface, is heated by magma, lava, hot rocks, or new volcanic deposits (for example, tephra, and pyroclastic-flow deposits),” according to Phivolcs in a Facebook post.
In a bulletin on Saturday (Jan 11), Phivolcs said Taal Volcano, which is located in Batangas province, released 5,868 tons of sulfur dioxide on Wednesday (Jan 8).
It also said that the Jan 10 phreatic eruption released a 900-meter-high plume that drifted southwest.
Long-term deflation of the volcano’s caldera and short-term inflation of the general northern and southeastern parts of the volcano island were also observed on Friday, Phivolcs noted.
Alert Level 1 is still raised over the volcano and Phivolcs repeated its warning that entering Taal Volcano Island and flying any aircraft close to the volcano premises is prohibited.
Phivolcs likewise reiterated that stream-driven or phreatic explosions, volcanic earthquakes, minor ashfall, and explosions of volcanic gas are still imminent.
On Saturday (Jan 11), Phivolcs separately reported that pressure might be building up and lead to another eruption of Kanlaon Volcano in Negros Island after the detection of more ground swelling.
Kanlaon Volcano erupted last Dec 9, producing a voluminous plume that rose to 3,000 meters above the vent and drifted west-southwest.
This prompted Phivolcs to raise Alert Level 3.
“Ground deformation monitoring by the Kanlaon Volcano Network (KVN) has been recording a pronounced inflation or swelling of the middle to upper portion of the eastern edifice since yesterday evening,” Phivolcs explained in its advisory.
According to state volcanologists, the Upper Pantao Observation Station – sitting at 1,056 meters above sea level – recorded an “abrupt and sharp” increase in the tilt of the eastern side of Kanlaon Volcano since 7.20pm on Friday (Jan 10).
“[This indicates] a sudden pressurisation within the upper portions of the edifice,” it explained.
Phivolcs also noted more swelling on the volcano’s southeastern side since the last week of December 2024 and less swelling on its western side since the first week of January 2025.
“These ground deformation parameters are largely similar to those recorded prior to the 9 December 2024 eruption, which was also preceded by a drop in SO2 (sulfur dioxide) emission,” Phivolcs said.
According to the agency’s data, Kanlaon Volcano emitted 5,763 tonnes of SO2 on Friday (Jan 10), which was close to the average daily amount of emissions since the June 2024 eruption.
Phivolcs, however, recorded a significant drop in the SO2 emissions on Thursday (Jan 9), with only 2,029 tonnes.
“The overall parameters may indicate that the shallow magma conduit of the volcano is undergoing pressurisation that may lead to an eruption broadly similar to the 9 December 2024 event,” Phivolcs warned. - Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN
