It has been five days now that
Taal Volcano has been troubling residents in Batangas and neighboring areas
because of its latest period of eruption which began Sunday, January 12.
Following a massive steam-blast eruption that scattered ash-fall and a brief lava
fountain display, the status of the complex volcanic system in the middle of
Taal Lake has leveled off and even died down, even as the alert level 4 warning
of a potentially powerful explosive eruption any day now remains. Even then,
the national volcanology agency is debating of finally lowering the alert
level. But in the meantime, attention is being directed at the drying up of the
lake.
ABS-CBN News has it that the water level in Taal Lake as well as a
Batangas river flowing out of it into Balayan Bay has shown drastic reduction
following the near week-long eruption of Taal Volcano. According to the
Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS), the reason for
the reported drying up of the lake might be attributed to the vaporization of
the water due to the high temperatures from the steam-blast eruption since
Sunday. PHIVOLCS director Renato Solidum also theorizes that the water level
may have been affected by ground deformation due to seismic earthquakes from
volcanic activity.
These factors also have an effect
on the Pansipit River, a short waterway that normally drains water from Taal
Lake into Balayan Bay, Solidum notes that due to the small size of the Pansipit,
it will likely mirror any change in the depths of the lake that it is connected
to. High temperatures leading to the water being vaporized is a more prominent
factor at the moment, due to the appearance of fissures in the lakeside towns
of Lemery, Talisay and Agoncillo. These might be brought on by rising magma,
which triggers the seismic quakes.
While some signs of Taal Volcano
calming down have been noted by PHIVOLCS, the agency continues to urge caution
from displaced residents that have begun returning to their homes to check on
their properties, crops and livestock. That is because the volcano continues to
belch an ash plume which also contains poisonous sulfur dioxide, some 4,100
tons of it daily. This is indicative of rising magma levels as earlier stated,
which continues to bode for a later, more explosive eruption as the alert level
4 has warned for days now. While a lowering of the alert level is possible, so
long as it remains, the same goes for the danger.
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