Taal’s crater lake drained, Alert Level 4 still up

Taal Volcano's continued activity has drained its main crater lake of water, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology has said.

Mariton Bornas, chief of PHIVOLCS Monitoring and Eruption Prediction Division, said the development was related to the movement of magma up the volcano.

"Dahil nga sunod sunod na pag-lindol, umatras ang tubig ng lawa at ngayon ay natuyo yung portions ng Pagsipit River. Nagkaroon siguro ng pagalsa o uplift yung Taal region," Bornas said at a press briefing on Wednesday.

"Possible din na yung mga bitak sa Lemery, ito ay dire-diretsyo na hanggang Talisay. Baka meron tayong mga underwater fissures sa floor or sa ilalim ng Taal lake at nag seep ang tubig dito," she added.

"In general, lahat ng ito ay related sa ground deformation na dulot ng pag tulak ng magma paakyat ng bulkan," Bornas said.

The drained crater lake was seen in newly acquired satellite images.

Bornas said these were not signs for an explosive volcanic eruption.

"Yung potential for an explosive eruption based yun sa monitoring parameters natin," Bornas said.

"Mamaya baka makuha natin yung total sulfur dioxide na measurement. Anytime na mag spike to ang indication niyan umaakyat na naman yung magma," she added.

According to Bornas, they are also monitoring earthquakes.

"Tinitignan namin hindi lang yung counts, yung bilang, kasi pwedeng marami pero maliliit lang. tinitignan rin namin yung energy release, yung magnitude ng earthquakes," Bornas said.

"Kung titignan natin yung history, 50/50, kung titignan natin yung monitoring record ngayon, malaki yung chance na magkaroon tayo ng explosive eruption ngayon," she added.

Meanwhile, alert level 4 remained over the Taal Volcano due to its possible imminent hazardous eruption.

PHIVOLCS reiterated the total evacuation of the Taal Volcano Island and high-risk areas.

It also advised residents around the volcano to guard against the effects of heavy and prolong ashfall. —NB, GMA News