MANILA — Another potential eruption of Taal Volcano could be stronger than last week's explosion that drove tens of thousands to evacuation centers, authorities said Tuesday, as some residents haggled to return home and reopen businesses.
A fresh supply of magma or molten rocks from underneath Taal is moving towards the volcano's crater, vaporizing the water on its lake and creating steam, said seismology institute Phivolcs Director Renato Solidum.
If unreleased into the air, the steam could build up pressure and trigger an explosion, he told radio DZMM.
About 10 to 15 kilometers southwest of Taal, Phivolcs also spotted a separate "magma intrusion" or a narrow dike of molten rocks moving towards the volcano, which could feed its unrest, said Solidum.
"Kung mabilis po ang pag-akyat ng magma o di kaya'y maghalo pa sa tubig, posible pong malakas [ang pagsabog]," he warned.
"Marami pong mga ganyang salaysay o naisulat sa Taal na minsan ang mga nauna ay malakas, pero iyong sumusunod ay mas malakas," he added.
(If the magma moves fast or if it mixes with water, the explosion could be strong. There are many written accounts that the first explosion could be strong, but the next could be even stronger.)
An ash cloud that Taal belched last Jan. 12 sent some 148,500 people to evacuation centers and damaged at least P3.2 billion worth of crops and livestock south of the capital.
The volcano remains under Alert Level 4, the second-highest in a 5-step warning system, meaning a "hazardous explosive eruption is possible within hours to days," the state seismology agency said.
Residents are prohibited from returning to their homes inside a 14-kilometer "danger zone" around Taal.
Authorities and volunteer groups in Batangas are feeding pets abandoned by the evacuees to discourage them from returning home, said the province's disaster office chief Lito Castro. The local government is also evacuating and offering to buy residents' livestock, he said.
"Kung iyan po ang dahilan, e di alisin po iyong dahilan para sila ay pumasok pa doon [sa danger zone]," Castro said in a separate DZMM interview.
(If the animals are their reason for entering the danger zone, then let's remove this reason.)
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This article first appeared on ABS-CBN.
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