‘Pacific Ring of Fire’ has always been active —PHIVOLCS

The Pacific Ring of Fire — the 40,000-kilometer horseshoe-shaped belt on the edges of the Pacific Ocean where many earthquakes and volcanic eruptions occur — has always been active, PHIVOLCS Director Renato Solidum clarified on Wednesday.

The clarification came amid claims of some netizens that the recent activities of Mexico's Popocatépetl volcano, Japan's Mt. Shintake and the Philippine's Taal Volcano signal that the Pacific Ring of Fire is "now active."

"The Pacific Ring of Fire has always been active. It can be active in a sense that volcanoes are erupting, it can also be active if there are earthquakes produced, especially those that are very large—and that has been happening continuously," Solidum said in an interview on ANC.

"The main tectonic or geologic process that triggers eruptions, earthquakes, or tsunamis in the Pacific Ring of Fire would be the movement of tectonic plates lying beneath all of the countries and archipelagos around it, and that has not stopped," he added.

Solidum also stressed that because there are so many volcanoes in the Pacific Ring of Fire, simultaneous eruption—independent of each other—can take place.

"Each volcano has its own supply of magma," he added.

The Philippines is situated along the seismically active Pacific Ring of Fire and there are 24 active volcanoes in the country, according to PHIVOLCS. — MDM, GMA News