The Taal Volcano erupted in Philippines recently
Key points
- Taal is the Philippines’ second most active volcano.
- it is “very small but a dangerous volcano”
- The active volcano is at the centre of the 230 sq km Lake Taal, formed by prehistoric eruptions(a lake formed in the caldera of an earlier massive eruption)
- Volcano Island alone has 47 craters and 4 maars – volcanic craters that form when hot magma comes into contact with shallow groundwater, producing a violent steam explosion. Other vents and eruption points are underneath Lake Taal.
- Taal is a “complex volcano“, which means it doesn’t have one vent or cone but several eruption points that have changed over time
- The head of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) calls Taal “a volcano within a volcano” and says as such it is “very dangerous”
- Taal has erupted in different ways more than 30 times in the past 500 years – most recently in 1977
- A 1911 eruption killed about 1,500 people. A 1974 eruption lasted several months
- Taal volcano is a baby volcano sitting within a much bigger caldera volcano
- Earthquakes and volcanic activity are not uncommon in the Philippines, which lies along the Ring of Fire – a zone of major seismic activity, which has one of the world’s most active fault lines.
Volcanic alert levels
- 0 – Quiet
- 1 – Some disturbance but no eruption soon
- 2 – Low to moderate seismicity – could eventually lead to eruption
- 3 – Relative high unrest – eruption possible within days or weeks, or it could die down
- 4 – Intense unrest – hazardous eruption possible within days
- 5 – Hazardous eruption – lava flowing or fountaining, ashfall, dangers to nearby communities
