This morning, Apr. 22, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PhiVolcs) recorded eight volcanic earthquakes from the Taal Volcano that hit the town of Mabini in Batangas. The strongest quake, recorded at 11:19 a.m., reached a magnitude of 4.6. Before that was a 4.5 magnitude earthquake recorded at 11:06 a.m.
Weaker earthquakes, with magnitudes of around 2.0 to 3.8 were also recorded. The quakes are associated with rock-fracturing processes beneath and around the edifice of Taal Volcano. According to PhiVolcs, there has also been “weak steaming or fumarolic activity was observed from vents on the main crater and from fissure vents along the Daang Kastila trail.”
There have been no recorded aftershocks and damages yet.
The Taal Volcano is currently under Alert Level 1, which means that there is only a slight increase in volcanic activity with a few sporadic eruptions and an increase in temperature. However, many have been worried about the volcano’s activity due to its recent eruption in January that caused a hazardous amount of ashfall to spread in CALABARZON and Metro Manila. There were 39 casualties and around 6,000 families displaced due to the eruption.
Header photo courtesy of Clifford Nuñez from Inquirer.net
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