Isinulat ni: Julia Kim
How did Taal volcano erupt?
After 43 years of silence, Taal volcano, located on the island of Luzon in the Philippines. According to PHIVOLCS director Renato Solidum, a phreatic eruption was first recorded at around 1 pm. ( Philippine standard time). Loud rumbling sounds were also felt and heard from the volcano island. By 2:30 pm, PHIVOLCS raised the alert status to Alert Level 2 after a stronger explosion was recorded around 2 pm. It was followed by an even stronger explosion by around 3 pm that spew an ash column measuring 100 meters, prompting PHIVOLCS to upgrade the alert status to Alert Level 3 by 4 pm. Furthermore, Solidum confirmed that there was a magmatic intrusion that is likely the cause of the volcano’s phreatic eruptions on Sunday morning and afternoon. PHIVOLCS ordered an evacuation in the towns of Balete, San Nicolas and Talisay in Batangas and other towns within the shores of Taal Lake. By 7:30 pm, PHIVOLCS upgraded the alert status to Alert Level 4 after volcanic activity intensified as “continuous eruption generated a tall 10 to 15 kilometers steam-laden tephra column with frequent volcanic lightning that rained wet ashfall on the general north as far as Quezon City and Caloocan. Ashfall from the volcano was also experienced in Cavite and Laguna and reached as far as Metro Manila and Pampanga (Phivolcs,2020).
Effects of Taal on houselands
Due to this devastating case, many life-threatening effects were prohibiting Filipinos from having healthy and safe lifestyle. First of all, most of the people living near the volcano had lost their homes. More than 543 houses were extremely destroyed (ABS-CBN).
Moreover, CNN news had interviewed several victims in the province of Batangas. A 52-year-old mother of two finds the roof over her kitchen has collapsed under the weight of ashfall. She said, “It was totally destroyed. I only saw it yesterday. I saw our barangay and can’t help but cry,”
Effects of Taal on agriculture and on Filipinos’ income
By the extreme ashfall, a huge number of Filipinos have lost their source of income. This includes farmers, landowners, agriculturalists, herdsmen and many more. The ash spewed from the volcano transformed the green field to a dirty dark gray. Mr. Imperial, a pineapple farmer in Tagaytay, mentioned that his chances of salvaging produce from his 1-hectare farm were small and that there was no one to sell them to because tourists avoid and tens of thousands of people have evacuated from Tagaytay area, marked as a danger zone. (Portugal,2020) Moreover, some of the farmers growing pineapples, bananas and coffee nearby said that the hot ash had harmed their crop and made it inedible. Not only the crops but the livestock was affected badly. According to ABS-CBN, Mrs.Sarmiento’s piggery, a new source of income for her, was gone. Her five pigs were dead “How can we rebuild our lives? How can we start again? I don’t have money to use as capital again,” she said. More surprisingly the agriculture damage due to the restive volcano reached over P3 billion. (ABS-CBN, 2020).
Purpose of this paper
This paper aims to inform the residents of the Philippines with what is happening with their country. By being alarmed, they can protect themselves from being harmed, participate in rescuing or helping the victims and be prepared for any possible situation they might face. Most importantly, it is not only about the past but also for the future. According to PHIVOLCS, Taal volcano is still in alert level 4, where the hazardous explosive eruption is still possible within hours to days. Therefore, people residing in the Philippines must be concerned and informed with this information.
Bibliography:
- News, A. B. S.-C. B. N. (2020, January 17). Taal volcano’s damage to agriculture sector reachers P3.06 billion. Retrieved January 23, 2020, from https://news.abs-cbn.com/video/business/01/18/20/taal-volcanos-damage-to-agriculture-sector-reaches-p306-billion
- Philippines: Taal Volcano – Jan 2020. (n.d.). Retrieved January 23, 2020, from https://reliefweb.int/disaster/vo-2020-000002-phl
- Portugal, A. (2020, January 15). Gray pineapples: Volcano devastates Philippines farm. Retrieved January 23, 2020, from https://www.reuters.com/article/us-philippines-volcano-farmer/gray-pineapples-volcano-devastates-philippines-farm-idUSKBN1ZE127
- Regan, H. (2020, January 19). The dilemma facing those in the shadow of Taal volcano. Retrieved January 23, 2020, from https://edition.cnn.com/2020/01/17/asia/taal-volcano-philippines-fatal-attraction-intl-hnk/index.html
- Staff, P. H. I. V. O. L. C. S. (n.d.). Taal Volcano. Retrieved January 24, 2020, from https://www.phivolcs.dost.gov.ph/index.php/2-uncategorised/177-taal-volcano
- Taal. (n.d.). Retrieved January 23, 2020, from https://www.volcanodiscovery.com/taal.html
- Yeung, J. (2020, January 14). Philippines warns of ‘explosive eruption’ after Taal Volcano spews ash near Manila. Retrieved January 23, 2020, from https://edition.cnn.com/2020/01/12/asia/taal-volcano-eruption-philippines-trnd/index.html
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