While the area around this volcano was evacuated days ago when volcanic activity increased and ash shot into the sky, not everyone left. Sure, many did evacuate but what will come for those who remained behind or came back?
With news of more erupting making headlines the people left behind or coming back are clearly at serious risk. According to Yahoo News, nearly 40,000 people have been evacuated but thousands more are refusing to leave and many are coming back to check on farms and get personal items. While this is a smaller volcano it is still very dangerous and there is a lot of risk with remaining there.
The BBC reported as follows on the topic:
Over the past few days, it’s begun spewing lava, triggering earthquakes and emitting huge plumes of ash that have spread across the island of Luzon and beyond.
Scientists fear a bigger “hazardous eruption” is imminent.
Taal is tiny, as volcanoes go, but it has been deadly before. And according to Renato Solidum, the head of the Philippines’ Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Philvolcs), it is “very small but a dangerous volcano”.
So what is it about Taal that has got people so worried?
Taal is defined as a “complex volcano” – it doesn’t have just one main vent or cone but several eruption points that have changed over time.
“Taal volcano is a baby volcano sitting within a much bigger caldera volcano,” said Ben Kennedy, associate professor of physical volcanology at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand.
These new eruptions are taking place on Volcano Island, which sits inside Lake Taal, a 234 sq km lake formed in the caldera of an earlier massive eruption.
Volcano Island alone has 47 craters and 4 maars – volcanic craters that form when hot magma comes into contact with shallow groundwater, producing a violent steam explosion. Other vents and eruption points are underneath Lake Taal.
This all meaning the volcano itself is highly unpredictable. It could spew in hours, days, or could literally blow any minute. The location of this volcano is extremely important to be aware of as it is close to tons of people, millions actually. It is just a few ‘tens of kilometers away’ from Metro Manila which has a population of over 10 million people and more cities within 30km that also are quite populated.
For more on this topic please check out the video below. There is a lot about this that we do not know and a lot to come we cannot predict. What do you think is going to end up happening in regards?
While the locals are bracing for something even more extreme we don’t know if it will come in the form of something big or several smaller explosions as a whole. I guess only time will tell, we should keep these people on our minds moving forward as once all is said and done there will be a lot of people losing more than most could imagine. How would you feel if this kind of thing was something you were face to face with?
Sources:
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-51087672
https://www.yahoo.com/news/thousands-philippines-refusing-leave-area-213440219.html