Fissures Near Taal Volcano & Continuous Quakes Signals Climactic Explosion
FISSURES NEAR TAAL VOLCANO – Although Taal Volcano looks like it’s calming down, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said fissures around the crater meant it’s active underneath.
The fissuring near the main crater of the volcano is caused by the rising magma said Phivolcs director Renato Solidum.
He noted that if the rising magma is continuous, there is a higher chance of activity in Taal Volcano. Earlier, the Institute explained that fissures occur before an eruption as magma rises.
On Phivolc’s 8:00 A.M. bulletin, it showed that they recorded 466 volcanic earthquakes since 1 p.m. on January 12. In addition, 156 of those ranged from intensity one to four.
Although the quakes are generally weak, Phivolcs Volcano Monitoring and Eruption Prediction Division chief Bornas said that “for volcanic earthquakes, that is strong”.
He added that the earthquakes are also caused by moving magma. Meanwhile, fissures were observed in the following areas:
- Sinisian
- Mahabang Dahilig
- Dayapan
- Palanas
- Sangalang
- Poblacion
- Mataas na Bayan in Lemery
- Pansipit
- Bilibinwang in Agoncillo
- Poblacion 1
- Poblacion 2
- Poblacion 3
- Poblacion 5 in Talisay
- Poblacion in San Nicolas
When questioned if the new fissures were indicative of a major climactic explosion, Bornas stated that it would be hard to tell.
He said that if we observe continuous earthquakes or harmonic tremors, then a major explosion would be close.
Phivolcs also reminded everyone that Taal Volcano remains under Alert Level 4. This means that a hazardous explosive eruption is possible within days or hours.
Included in the Phivolcs bulletin was the sulfur dioxide (S02) emissions. Today, it measured an average of 1686 tonnes as of Tuesday.
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