Philippine Volcano Simmers, Officials Brace for Long Crisis
Continuing volcanic quakes, the drying of Taal’s crater lake and other signs indicate magma is moving beneath the volcano
By Aaron Favila and JIm Gomez ••
NBCUniversal, Inc.
Dramatic time lapse footage shot in the Philippines show lightning strikes amid a massive rising column of ash cloud as the Taal Volcano erupted on Jan. 12.
Philippine officials said Saturday they're bracing for a long crisis whether the Taal volcano erupts more disastrously or simmers precariously for weeks or months, as massive numbers of displaced villagers languish in emergency shelters.
Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said more than 900 villagers who fell ill have been treated, mostly for exposure to volcanic ash, in evacuation sites since the volcano began erupting in Batangas province near Manila, the capital, last weekend.
Ezra Acayan/Getty Images
A fishing boat sails along a lake as the Taal volcano erupts, Jan. 14, 2020, in Talisay, Philippines.
Aaron Favila/AP
Clouds of volcanic ash rise up from damaged trees in Laurel, Batangas province, Philippines on Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2020. The Taal volcano spewed lava half a mile high as thousands of people flee villages darkened and blanketed by heavy ash.
Aaron Favila/AP
A resident clears volcanic ash from his roof in Laurel, Philippines on Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2020. The Taal volcano spewed ash half a mile high as thousands of people flee villages darkened and blanketed by heavy ash.
Ezra Acayan/Getty Images
A resident cleans volcanic ash from his fishing boat after the Taal volcano erupted, Jan. 14, 2020, in Talisay, Philippines.
Ezra Acayan/Getty Images
A house near Taal Volcano’s crater is buried in volcanic ash from the eruption on Jan. 14, 2020, in Taal Volcano Island, Philippines. The Philippine Institute of of Volcanology and Seismology raised the alert level to four out of five, warning that a hazardous eruption could take place anytime, as authorities have evacuated tens of thousands of people from the area. An estimated $10 million worth of crops and livestock have been damaged by the on-going eruption, according to the country’s agriculture department. (
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Houses near Taal Volcano’s crater is seen buried in volcanic ash from the volcano’s eruption on Jan. 14, 2020, in Taal Volcano Island, Philippines.
Bullit Marquez/AP
Evacuees stay at an evacuation center in Tanaun, Philippines, Jan. 14, 2020. The Taal Volcano is spewed ash half a mile high and continues to tremble with earthquakes as thousands of people flee villages darkened and blanketed by heavy ash.
Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology
Lava spews from the crater of the Taal volcano over Lake Taal, Philippines, Jan. 13, 2020. Authorities say there is a chance of a larger eruption following the initial miles-high burst of ash on Sunday and lava eruptions on Monday.
Aaron Favila/AP
A family rides through clouds of ash as they evacuate to safer grounds in Lemery, Philippines, Jan. 13, 2020. Red-hot lava gushed from the volcano after a sudden eruption of ash and steam that forced residents to flee and shut down Manila’s airport, offices and schools.
Ted Aljibe/AFP via Getty Images
A youth rides an outrigger canoe at the base of the Taal volcano while the volcano spews ash as seen from Tanauan town in Batangas province, Jan. 13, 2020. The Philippines was on alert January 13 for the “explosive eruption” of a volcano south of Manila, which officials said could be imminent after a massive column of ash forced a halt to flights at the capital’s main airport.
NOAA
Satellite imagery over the Philippines shows the moment the Taal volcano erupted on Jan. 12, 2020, blasting steam, ash and pebbles miles into the sky.
Kester Ragaza/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images
The Taal volcano booms to life, Sunday, Jan. 12, 2020, spilling a thick blanket of volcanic ash over nearby towns and cities just south of the capital of Manila.
Courtesy Joshua Bobadilla
Lightning race across a billowing ash cloud as the Taal volcano erupts, spewing fume, ash and pebbles miles-high into the sky over Lake Taal, Philippines, Jan. 12, 2020.
Courtesy Joshua Bobadilla
Lightning race across a billowing ash cloud as the Taal volcano erupts, spewing fume, ash and pebbles miles-high into the sky over Lake Taal, Philippines, Jan. 12, 2020.
Courtesy Joshua Bobadilla
Lightning race across a billowing ash cloud as the Taal volcano erupts, spewing fume, ash and pebbles miles-high into the sky over Lake Taal, Philippines, Jan. 12, 2020.
Courtesy Joshua Bobadilla
Lightning race across a billowing ash cloud as the Taal volcano erupts, spewing fume, ash and pebbles miles-high into the sky over Lake Taal, Philippines, Jan. 12, 2020.
@spoky_who via Twitter
Video shot by a Twitter user shows lightning strikes as the Taal volcano erupted on Jan. 12, 2020.
An ash cloud from the Taal volcano looms over a wedding party, Jan. 12, 2020, in Tagaytay, Philippines. (Courtesy Randolf Evan Photography)
A couple take their wedding photos right as the Taal volcano erupts behind them, on Jan. 12, 2020, in Tagaytay, Philippines. (Courtesy Randolf Evan Photography)
About 125,000 people fled from ash-blanketed villages and crammed into hundreds of emergency centers in Batangas alone and many others took shelter in relatives’ homes, disaster-response officials said, appealing for masks, bottled water, portable toilets, food and sleeping mats.
“It’s really massive because you’re talking of more or less 100,000 evacuees in evacuation centers, so the infrastructure and services needed are really huge,” Duque said. "This is not going to be for the short term, but for the medium if not long term.”
After belching a massive plume of ash and steam more than 15 kilometers (9 miles) into the sky when it rumbled back to life last Sunday, Taal has been spewing smaller emissions and shuddering with fewer earthquakes in recent days. But despite a perceived waning of its restiveness, continuing volcanic quakes, the drying of Taal’s crater lake and other signs indicate magma is moving beneath, said Renato Solidum, who heads the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology.
A town in the Philippines is seen covered in ash in drone footage. The town and surrounding areas *were* evacuated before the eruption of the Taal volcano and no deaths are reported.
“We have this perception now that it’s waning versus underground sub-surface activity, which indicates otherwise,” Solidum said at a news conference, adding that experts “have not seen a definite trend that it’s weakening.”
The 311-meter (1,020-foot) -high Taal is one of the world’s smallest but the second-most restive of about two dozen active Philippine volcanoes. It has remained at alert level 4, the second-highest warning, indicating a hazardous explosive eruption is possible within hours or days.
Duque said hundreds of villagers have been treated for respiratory infections, hypertension, diarrhea, skin lesions, flu and coughs in evacuation centers. About 300,000 masks, including those from regions unaffected by the volcanic eruption, have been sent to calamity-hit areas.
The government’s main disaster-response agency will hold a meeting next week to discuss concerns, including hygiene in evacuation camps, Duque said. He has sought the help of the military to build latrines and repair toilets in emergency shelters, mostly school buildings.
In the hard-hit town of Agoncillo, Mayor Daniel Reyes said all 42,000 residents abandoned their homes, including 8,000 who are now encamped in evacuation centers and need food, water and aid. “They rushed out of their homes without bringing anything, so they will really be dependent on our help,” Reyes said.
Agoncillo still has about two weeks worth of food, water and aid packs and will need help from the provincial and national governments when supplies get depleted, he said.
While tending to the thousands of displaced residents, Reyes said he and other officials were preparing contingency plans in case Taal erupts violently.
“There is a great possibility that it will erupt,” Reyes said, citing a briefing by government volcano experts.
The Philippines lies along the Pacific "Ring of Fire,” a string of faults around the ocean basin where many of the world’s earthquakes and volcanic eruptions occur.
Associated Press videojournalist Joeal Calupitan contributed to this report.
