INTRODUCTION

Quick Facts About Philippines’ Volcanoes

The Philippines is located along the Pacific Ring of Fire

-​ The Philippines is home to a significant number of volcanoes, and one of the reasons for
this is the Ring of Fire. This region, also known as the Pacific Ring of Fire, is
characterized by a high degree of volcanic activity and earthquakes. The Ring of Fire
is a massive area that encircles the Pacific Ocean and includes many active tectonic
plate boundaries. As a result, the Philippines experiences frequent volcanic eruptions
and earthquakes.

23 out of the 220 volcanoes in the Philippines are active.

-​ About 23 out of the 220 volcanoes in the archipelago are active according to the
Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs). These include Mayon
(Albay Province in southern Luzon), Mount Pinatubo (Central Luzon), and Taal
(Batangas in southern Luzon). The Phivolcs define "active" as volcanoes that have
erupted in the past 500 years. Other include Biliran, Babuyan Claro, Bulusan, Camiguin,
Camiguin de Babuyanes, Didicas, Iraya, Jolo, Kanlaon, Makaturing, Musuan, Parker,
and Ragang.

Stratovolcanoes

-​ In the Philippines, stratovolcanoes are the most frequently found type of volcanoes.
They are characterized by their violent and explosive eruptions, which eject volcanic
bombs. These volcanoes have a cone-shaped structure with steep sides, towering as
high as 7,000 feet.

There are 5 Volcanic hazards are directly associated with the eruption

-​ Lava flows are rivers of incandescent molten rock or lava moving downslope or away
from an eruption vent. Tephra Fall or AshFall is a tiny jagged particle of rock and
natural glass blasted into the air by a volcano. Pyroclastic Density Currents, also
known as PDCs, are mixtures of volcanic debris, hot gases, and ash that move quickly
down the slopes of a volcano or outward from its vent. These currents can travel at high
speeds and pose a significant hazard to those in their path. When a volcano explodes, it
can create blasts of hot gas and ash that move laterally, which means sideways. These
blasts can happen either from the top of the volcano or from inside the volcano when the
sides of the volcano suddenly collapse. These blasts are known as Lateral Blasts.
Volcanic gases form a dissolved component of magma that is released the atmosphere
in large quantities during eruptions.
The Philippines has some volcanoes that serve as popular tourist attractions.

-​ Volcanoes in the Philippines, like Mayon Volcano, Taal Volcano, and Mount Pinatubo
are popular tourist attractions because of their stunning scenery, unique geological
features, and cultural significance. People visit these places for activities such as
hiking, sightseeing, and watching volcanoes. These areas also offer hot springs,
beautiful landscapes, and cultural experiences, making them popular destinations for
tourists from both within and outside the country.

Why is it important to be prepared?

-​ There is no timetable for calamities. We cannot anticipate such dramatic circumstances,
therefore all we can do is prepare. Planning and preparing medical kits, evacuation
plans, and other preparations will help to decrease losses from destruction and death.
This allows us to mitigate the damage it will cause. It is also a technique to safeguard
ourselves against disasters. However, being prepared not only provides increased
protection and safety, but it can also save lives. Although there are rescue teams in our
country, we cannot rely on them because there are so many other people in need of
assistance. By preparing ourselves to face these unfavorable situations, we can work
hand and hand to protect ourselves, our families, our neighbors, and also save the lives
of many people.
-​ Preparation and planning on how to respond before, during, and after calamities is truly
helpful for disaster prevention. The continuous research of the institutions assigned to
different disasters is also helpful for everyone to know what to expect from the
occurrence of disasters. There are information about the programs and activities of
PAGASA and PHIVOLCS for National Disaster Reduction available at:
https://www.adrc.asia/management/PHL/Philippines_Disaster_Plans.html#:~:text=In%20
the%20event%20of%20disasters,various%20areas%20of%20the%20country.

TAAL VOLCANO

Overview

Taal Volcano is a large caldera located in Batangas and is considered the smallest active
volcano in the world. Throughout history, it has erupted approximately 38 times, making it the
second most active volcano in the Philippines. After several eruptions, it was eventually filled by
Taal Lake. The most recent eruption occurred on March 26, 2022. Although it is commonly
believed to have only one crater, the volcano is a complex system consisting of 47 volcanic
craters.

Impacts
Between 1998 and 2017, volcanic eruptions and wildfires harmed 6.2 million people and
claimed about 2400 lives. Some of the events that happened during the eruption are the
following: lava flows, gas emissions, ash falls, and pyroclastic explosions. Aside from the said
events, volcanic eruption is just like an earthquake which has secondary impacts or like an
aftershocks, and it includes floods, landslides, earthquake, wildfires, and can also contribute to
global warming. On January 12, 2020, the Taal Volcano erupted and impacted several lives. For
over four months after the catastrophe, many people were unable to return home. Most of them
lived with host families.

Here are some impacts of the eruption of the Taal Volcano.

●​ Sulfur Dioxide affecting the air quality

​ The eruption of the Taal Volcano affected the air quality. With the emission of
Sulfur Dioxide, the global temperature was also affected. Exposure to sulfur dioxide
(SO2) can irritate a person's eyes and respiratory system, particularly for persons with
respiratory illnesses such as asthma. A long exposure to the said harmful chemical
can lead to fatigue, headache, and allergy.

●​ Changes in the Island of Taal Volcano called “Pulo”

​ Pulo, as they call it, is the island where the communities of Taal lived. However,
due to the eruption of Taal, the island where lives were once sheltered, has now become
like an abandoned island with ashes all over the place and houses buried in muds.
Pulo's pre-eruption natural colors were stripped away as gray ash settled to coat the
green underneath familiar to tourists and local tour guides.

●​ Pansipit Bridge drying up

​ Taal Lake, a popular tourist destination and a source of income in the region,
drains into Balayan Bay via the Pansipit River. On January 15, 2020, people noticed that
a stretch of the Pansipit River had dried up. PHIVOLCS reported that the
accumulation of magma under Barangay Tatlong Maria, province of Batangas,
caused the ground to bulge and the water in the river to retreat.

●​ Agricultural and Aquatic Damage

The Taal volcano eruption has caused significant damage and losses, reaching Php 3.06
billion, affecting 15,790 hectares and 1,923 animal heads, according to the Department
of Agriculture. The increase is attributed to additional reports from Laguna Batangas and
Cavite, affecting coffee, cacao, pineapple, rice, coconut, and fisheries. Fisheries
were the most affected commodity, with an estimated Php 1.6 billion loss for tilapia and
bangus species from 6,000 fish cages around Taal Lake.

●​ Services and infrastructure have been damaged.

The Philippines experienced a series of seismic activities recently that caused significant
damage to the region. The southwest shore of Taal Lake was rocked by volcanic
eruptions and earthquakes that led to the destruction of houses, roads, power, and
water supply. Thousands of people were left homeless, and many roads in Batangas
 and Cavite had to be closed. Over 600 flights were canceled, and classes were
suspended in affected areas. The number of damaged houses during the eruption of
Taal Volcano in Batangas exceeded 3,000 according to the National Disaster Risk
Reduction Management Council.

●​ Ashfall on surrounding municipalities, buildings, and evacuation centers.

Ashfall was detected on buildings in Sta. Rosa and Calamba in Laguna. Ashfall also
reached other parts of CALABARZON, Metro Manila, and Central Luzon. Some
evacuation centers are located within the 17 km danger zone, but most are situated in
highly populated areas outside the danger zone. Metro Manila's population has spread
to Laguna and Cavite, neighboring provinces of Batangas. Ashfall has also reached
these highly populated areas of Laguna. Although the population is not as high and
concentrated in the towns within the 14 and 17 km danger zones, residents within
the 17 km danger zones had to evacuate their homes and leave their properties
due to the situation.

Responses
The eruption of Taal Volcano led the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology
to raise the alert to level four. This alarmed the people near and even far from the volcano about
the harm that it will bring. With this, the Philippine Emergency Medical Assistance Team
(PEMAT), directed and coordinated by the Department of Health and supported by the
World Health Organization, responded to the call to help with the health response during
the Taal Volcano eruption. Before deployment, the DOH and WHO educated the emergency
medical teams to ensure they met the EMT minimum requirements established by WHO and its
partners. When the team arrived at the Taal, Batangas, they set up tents in different stations
for rescue. There was an emergency operations center, triage, laboratory, pharmacy,
gynecology, sleeping quarters, and others. The team also experienced ash fall and
earthquake while doing rescue operations.

During the eruption, all of the people residing in the area of Taal were forced to
evacuate. Those in the most affected area, which is approximately 9 miles from the volcano's
crater, have already been evacuated, and the number of displaced persons is expected to rise
further. Going farther, the people in Metro Manila were also affected by the ash falls and
were advised to wear face masks and go out of the house only when needed. This is to
avoid the risk and toxicity that the air at that time has.

National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (NDRRMC) Executive Director

Ricardo Jalad said that there were over 8,000 families rescued during the operation. After
the remarkable eruption of Taal in 2020, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana proposed that
the Taal Volcano should be a “No man’s land”. Meaning, there should be no people residing
in the area since the next eruptions of the said volcano would be very crucial for the lives
around the Taal. Also, because of the damage that it brought in the houses, Former President
Duterte, who was the president that year, called for the construction of more durable and
reliable evacuation centers. The eruption of Taal gave everyone, not just the residents there,
but also people living far away from the volcano, to always be prepared and look out for their
own safety.

REFERENCES:
Country: Philippines. (n.d.).

https://www.adrc.asia/management/PHL/Philippines_Disaster_Plans.html#:~:text

=In%20the%20event%20of%20disasters,various%20areas%20of%20the%20cou

ntry.

World Health Organization: WHO. (2019, November 26). Volcanic eruptions.

https://www.who.int/health-topics/volcanic-eruptions?gclid=Cj0KCQiAzoeuBhDqA
 RIsAMdH14HLSVZ8JrMzCmE5iZAthJYDxwpP64A2HysYLtGwPGtPZzQeMH23

E9kaAp_rEALw_wcB#tab=tab_1

Impacts of Taal Volcano Phreatic Eruption (12 January 2020) on the Environment and

Population: Satellite-Based Observations Compared with Historical Records |

Manila Observatory. (2020, April 20).

https://www.observatory.ph/2020/04/20/impacts-of-taal-volcano-phreatic-eruption-

12-january-2020-on-the-environment-and-population-satellite-based-observation

s-compared-with-historical-records/

Toledo, E. (2020, February 9). Return to “no man’s land”: Residents of “Pulo” come

home weeks after eruption. Philstar.com.

https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2020/02/06/1990865/return-no-mans-land-res

idents-pulo-come-home-weeks-after-eruption

Philippines emergency: Responding to the Taal volcano eruption - Philippines. (2020,

January 23). ReliefWeb.

https://reliefweb.int/report/philippines/philippines-emergency-responding-taal-volc

ano-eruption

Philippine emergency medical teams respond to Taal Volcano eruption. (2020, February

27). World Health Organization.

https://www.who.int/philippines/news/feature-stories/detail/philippine-emergency-

medical-teams-respond-to-taal-volcano-eruption

PRRD ‘very happy’ with gov’t response to Taal Volcano eruption. (n.d.). Philippine News

Agency. https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1090887
Hays, J. (n.d.). VOLCANOES IN THE PHILIPPINES | facts and details.

https://factsanddetails.com/southeast-asia/Philippines/sub5_6h/entry-3167.html

Volcanoes of the Philippines, facts & information / VolcanoDiscovery. (n.d.).

https://www.volcanodiscovery.com/philippines.html

Active volcanoes and eruptions in the Philippines. (n.d.). Worlddata.info.

https://www.worlddata.info/asia/philippines/volcanoes.php#:~:text=With%2010%2

0volcanoes%20in%20the

History - Hiking Taal Volcano | Day Tours from Manila. (2017b, October 16). Hiking Taal
Volcano | Day Tours From Manila.
https://www.taalvolcano.org/history/#:~:text=Taal%20Volcano%20is%20the%20smallest
,of%20tourists%20and%20geologists%20yearly

Philipp, J. (2023, May 28). How the Taal volcano eruption affected poverty in the

Philippines. The Borgen Project.

https://borgenproject.org/how-the-taal-volcano-eruption-affected-poverty-in-the-p

hilippines/

Philipp, J. (2023, May 28). How the Taal volcano eruption affected poverty in the

Philippines. The Borgen Project.

https://borgenproject.org/how-the-taal-volcano-eruption-affected-poverty-in-the-p

hilippines/

Impacts of Taal Volcano Phreatic Eruption (12 January 2020) on the Environment and

Population: Satellite-Based Observations Compared with Historical Records |

Manila Observatory. (2020, April 20).

https://www.observatory.ph/2020/04/20/impacts-of-taal-volcano-phreatic-eruption-
12-january-2020-on-the-environment-and-population-satellite-based-observation

s-compared-with-historical-records/