Taal Volcano had a magmatic eruption early Monday morning after spewing only smoke and ash since Sunday afternoon, state seismologists said.
A "weak" lava fountain erupted from the active volcano for an hour and a half, from 02:49am to 04:28am, Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) said on Monday. This was accompanied by thunder and flashes of lightning triggered by the eruption.
PHIVOLCS Director Renato Solidum said the lava fountain should not cause increased concern as it does not mean the volcano has entered the "hazardous explosive eruption" phase although this is a possibility.
He added that this is an expected activity of the volcano, but the development means that lava has reached the surface of the volcano.
"We haven't seen yet the hazards of the 1965, 1911, and 1754 eruption manifested in Taal Volcano. [If it is a hazardous eruption], we will see flows of ashes, rocks, gas at speeds of more than 60 kph horizontally and that can move across the lake," he said.
Alert Level 4 remains over Taal Volcano, which means a "hazardous explosive eruption" can happen within hours or days. Under this threat level, more magmatic eruptions are expected. Phivolcs warned this can progress into a highly-hazardous eruption.
Taal showed a marked increase in volcanic activity on Sunday afternoon with an ash plume at around 2pm. PHIVOLCS raised alert levels two, three and four in a period of a few hours. The seismological agency, however, has been monitoring the volcano since March 2019.
Taal is one of the shortest volcanoes in the world and is the second-most active volcano in the Philippines. Its last eruption was in 1977.
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