The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) announced that the Taal Volcano, located near the capital of the Philippines, erupted with columns of gas and steam on the morning of March 31. This activity follows a recent phreatomagmatic eruption from the volcano.
Taal Volcano over the lake in Batangas Province spewing ash hundreds of meters into the sky on March 26, 2022. (Photo: AFP/TTXVN)
According to PHIVOLCS, the volcanic eruption occurred at 10:39 AM local time. Prior to this, no earthquakes had been recorded in the area. However, since March 30, there have been minor tremors around the Taal Volcano.
Taal Volcano is located in Batangas Province, approximately 66 kilometers south of Manila. On March 26, PHIVOLCS raised the alert level for the volcano to level 3 on a scale of 5 after an eruption. This prompted local officials to evacuate over 7,000 residents from 18 villages surrounding Taal.
The last major eruption of Taal, one of the most active volcanoes in the Philippines, occurred in January 2020, displacing nearly 380,000 people and destroying numerous farms, homes, and road systems in neighboring provinces.
The Philippines is frequently affected by volcanic eruptions and earthquakes due to its location on the “Ring of Fire”, an area with intense seismic activity. Since January 2020, the Philippines has prohibited access to the “island” of this volcano after it spewed ash columns reaching 15 kilometers high and emitted hot lava, resulting in the death of many livestock and the evacuation of tens of thousands of people.
In July 2021, PHIVOLCS raised the alert level to 3 again after Taal Volcano erupted once more, releasing harmful SO2 gas for several days, creating a thick haze that covered the capital Manila and surrounding provinces. Authorities later lowered the alert level to 2.
