The social action office of the Archdiocese of Lipa continues to support the needs of at least 3,000 families who fled their homes to avoid the threat of an eruption of Taal volcano in Batangas.
Renbrandt Tangonan, advocacy officer of Lipa’s social action office, said evacuation centers supported by the church continue to host at least 500 families each.
“These are monitored closely by our local churches through the Social Action Commission and our volunteers, said Tangonan in an interview over Radio Veritas 846.
The restive volcano in Batangas has been under Alert Level 2 since March 9, 2021.
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology noted “steam plumes, vertical jets, and even water spouts” in the volcano in the past weeks.
The institute said that under the current alert level, “risk of sudden steam-driven or phreatic explosions, volcanic earthquakes, minor ashfall, and lethal accumulations or expulsions of volcanic gas can occur and threaten areas within and around the Taal Volcano Island.”
Entry to Taal Volcano Island, Taal’s permanent danger zone, especially the vicinities of the main crater, and occupancy and boating on Taal Lake, must be strictly prohibited.
The volcano, which sits on an island surrounded by a lake in Batangas province, had a steam-driven eruption on January 12, 2020, triggering an ash fall that reached parts of Metro Manila and nearby provinces.
The eruption displaced more than 700,000 people in Central Luzon, Calabarzon and Metro Manila regions. Damage to infrastructure and agriculture in the provinces of Batangas, Cavite and Laguna was pegged at 3.4 billion pesos.
Taal is among 24 active volcanoes in the Philippines and has recorded 33 eruptions since 1572. Its worst eruption was in 1911 when about 1,335 people were killed.
