Taal Volcano was reported to show signs of possible eruption according to an official for relief and disaster response. In fact, an alert Level 2 is raised by the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology as Taal Volcano was observed to undergo series of volcanic tremors leading to the evacuation of at least 77 local residents from Pulo Island.
Currently, both local and foreign travelers are being discouraged to visit areas near Taal volcano as advised by the authorities.
Senior Superintendent Alberto Supapo reported that a total of 17 families were transported using a ferry boat heading to the town of Talisay last Saturday night.
Supapo added that the 77 local residents who evacuated were among the 2,210 people who lived within the island as they were given notice to leave the place on Saturday starting at 9p.m. Notice have been given earlier for the fear that Taal Volcano could erupt anytime.
Venancio Trinidad Senior Memorial School located in Talisay, Batangas accommodated three families. The remaining 14 families stayed in the house of their relatives living in Poblacion, Talisay according to Supapo.
The provincial information officer of Batangas, Jing Segismundo, reported that the evacuees came from the subvillages of San Isidro, Tabla and Tibag situated on the island where Taal Volcano stands. Segismundo have announced that if the alert level will be raised to 3 or higher, the local authorities will be able to implement forced evacuation.
If probable eruption or strong changes will occur in the next 10 days, alert level 3 will be declared while alert level 4 signifies that the volcano will erupt anytime. Whereas, when the volcanic eruption will be in progress, an alert level 5 will then be declared.
Taal Volcano was recorded to experience 31 volcanic quakes between April 8 and 9 as reported by Science Research (–foul word(s) removed–)istant for the Taal Volcano observatory, Lorence Baňez. Moreover, information also came out that there is a rise in the carbon dioxide level that surrounds Taal Volcano. This means that the depth of the volcano is known to have “anomalous gas release”.
Higher levels of carbon dioxide in the air will eventually harm plants as it can also cause people to become dizzy, to faint or even suffer from headache if such elevated gas will be inhaled. Both human beings and animals may die of suffering asphyxiation as a result of inhaling carbon dioxide.
Daang Kastila trail is often used by many tourists to take a closer look at Taal Volcano. But since Taal Volcano is under alert Level 2, there is a strict notice that Daang Kastila trail is off-limits.