2,000 tremors, quakes recorded amid Taal's 'elevated unrest' -PHIVOLCS

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) on Wednesday said it has recorded a total of 2,015 volcanic tremors, 734 low-frequency volcanic earthquakes and 18 hybrid earthquake events in Taal Volcano since February as seismic activity in the area had an "elevated increase."

In a statement, PHIVOLCS said harmonic tremor associated with magma migration became the dominant type of earthquake since March 19, 2021, after Taal Volcano's ongoing unrest began on February 13.

It said that most earthquake events occurred at shallow depths of less than two kilometers, although some large earthquakes were generated in the deeper two- to six-kilometer region beneath the Taal Volcano Island (TVI) edifice.

"Overall seismic energy release has markedly increased since yesterday afternoon compared to previous seismic swarms," PHIVOLCS said.

The Taal Volcano Network also recorded a "generally high" sulfur dioxide gas emission in the previous week with a peak of 1,184 tons/day on March 21.

It added that ground deformation at the edifice and the Taal Caldera region in general has remained steady and at slight inflationary trends since February 2021, indicating that magma is migrating across shallow depths beneath the TVI.

This increases the possibilities of magmatic eruption, PHIVOLCS said.

"Alert Level 2 (Increased Unrest) is currently maintained over Taal Volcano but that unrest has been elevating and is under constant evaluation," PHIVOLCS said.

It strongly recommended that entry into the Taal Volcano Island, Taal's Permanent Danger Zone, especially the vicinities of the main crater and the Daang Kastila fissure and occupancy and boating on Taal Lake, must be strictly prohibited. -MDM, GMA News