(UPDATE) A MINOR phreatic eruption over Taal Volcano in Batangas province was recorded on Sunday morning, according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs).
Phivolcs director Teresito Bacolcol said the latest burst occurred around 1:37 p.m. and lasted until 1:45 p.m.
The event produced a 2,000-meter-high plume that drifted southwest, he told The Manila Times via Viber.
Alert Level 1 currently prevails over the volcano, which means there is a low-level volcanic unrest, but a series of phreatic eruptions was recorded in the past weeks.
However, on Oct. 2, 2024, Phivolcs said a phreatomagmatic eruption, which was more explosive than phreatic eruption, took place which lasted for 11 minutes.
Asked about the possibility of a bigger and more explosive eruption over the Batangas volcano in the coming days or weeks, the Phivolcs chief said there was still a slim chance.
He explained that even raising the alert status of a volcano is based on its parameters, including sulphur dioxide gas emission and volcanic earthquakes, among others.
"So far, we don't see it yet (in reference to a bigger eruption over Taal)," Bacolcol said.
A phreatomagmatic eruption occurs when magma interacts with water, causing explosive events that produce a mix of steam, ash, and fragmented volcanic materials, the Phivolcs chief said.
On one hand, Bacolcol said phreatic eruption happens when water comes into contact with hot volcanic materials (either rocks or gases), producing steam, ash and sometimes fragmented volcanic materials.
He reminded the public anew to stay away from volcano's permanent danger zone "which is the whole of Taal Volcano Island as phreatic eruptions can take place anytime."