Taal volcano eruption: lava fountain shows ‘limited’ potential damage

A University of the Philippine geologist said on Monday that lava flow for the Taal Volcano eruption was a “good news” and showed “limited” potential damage as Alert Level 4 or possible “explosive eruption” was raised.

Carlos Arcilla of the UP National Institute for Geological Sciences said it was possible that the Taal volcano eruption would not carry a lot of pyroclastic material.

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“The lava fountain to me is, in a sense, ‘good news.’ It’s a silver lining. Number 1 because it’s not going to be an eruption that carries a lot of pyroclastic materials because ‘yun po ang delikado (that’s what is dangerous),” he told ANC’s Headstart.

“That could still happen. I would have been more worried if continued na palaging ash and ash columns then suddenly super gas. Ang nagda-drive kasi ng eruption is ‘yung gas content ng lava. Kung lumalabas na ‘yung magma, it’s telling me at least the potential damage will be limited.”

Also read: After ash column, Taal spews lava fountain

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Taal volcano eruption: lava fountain shows ‘limited’ potential damage

Taal Volcano or Bulkang Taal in Filipino is a complex volcano located on the big island of Luzon in the Philippines. It is in the province of Batangas and is the second most active volcano in the Philippines with 34 historical eruptions. All of these eruptions are concentrated on Volcano Island, an island near the middle of Taal Lake.

The volcano which spewed ash column and lava fountain is only two hours away from the country’s capital, Manila.

Arcilla also Taal lava fountain shows ‘limited’ potential damage, but it still essential to heed authorities’ advice, particularly Phivolcs.

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“The important thing is to listen to what Phivolcs is saying because they have the instrument to do this. You cannot guess what’s inside. They rely on instruments,” he said.

Since the 1977 eruption, it had shown signs of unrest since 1991, with intense seismic activity and ground fracturing events, as well as the formation of small mud pots and mud geysers on parts of the island.