TAAL Volcano in Batangas had a phreatomagmatic eruption yesterday afternoon, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said.

Phivolcs describes phreatomagmatic eruption as a “very violent eruption due to explosive contact of erupting magma with water.”

“Phreatomagmatic eruption is just magma interacting with water and producing steam and ash. It doesn’t mean anything, this is just a type of eruption,” said Phivolcs director Teresito Bacolcol, adding there is no need to raise the volcano’s alert status which is now at is at Level 1.

The eruption, which occurred from 4:21 p.m. to 4:32 p.m., generated a plume as high as 2,400 meters.

Bacolcol said the phreatomagmatic eruption does not mean a magmatic eruption, involving lava, is forthcoming.

“This is just a description of a type of eruption,” he said.

He said Taal Volcano having a phreatomagmatic eruption is nothing new. He noted that similar phreatomagmatic eruptions were recorded in March and October 2022.

Bacolcol initially reported the incident as phreatic or steam-driven eruption but later clarified it was phreatomagmatic eruption.

On maintain Taal under Alert Level 1, Bacolcol said Phivolcs’ monitoring parameters, other than the phreatomagmatic eruption, were normal. The parameters included volcanic earthquakes. He said there was no volcanic earthquake recorded from 12 midnight up to yesterday.

Bacolcol said it was expected that the eruption caused the emission of ash. Nevertheless, he said, they were still awaiting reports if there was ash emission.

“If there is ash emitted, people should wear face mask. They should also wear face mask if they smell sulfur dioxide,” he said.

The incident occurred a day after the volcano had five phreatic eruptions. Bacolcol said phreatic eruptions are normal for volcano, noting that they already recorded some 40 phreatic eruptions in Taal since last April.

In advisory issued at 6:30 p.m., Phivolcs said called the incident as a “minor phreatomagmatic activity.”

Phivolcs said the phreatomagmatic event was “likely driven by sudden contact of water with a small branch of shallow magma that has been in place beneath the Taal main crater and that has been degassing sustained levels of SO2 for the past three years.”

“The background levels of volcanic earthquake activity and ground deformation detected at Taal indicate that unrest is unlikely to progress into a major magmatic eruption at this time,” it added.

Phivolcs said Alert Level 1 means Taal “is still in abnormal condition and should not be interpreted to have ceased unrest nor ceased the threat of eruptive activity.”

“At Alert Level 1, sudden steam-driven or phreatic explosions, volcanic earthquakes, minor ashfall and lethal accumulations or expulsions of volcanic gas can occur and threaten areas within the Taal Volcano Island,” it added.