Taal volcano: IMMINENT eruption possible as Philippines volcano is hit by 738 earthquakes
TAAL VOLCANO could erupt explosively within a matter of hours or days after geologists reported "intense activity" of moving magma and earthquakes around the Philippines volcano.

By SEBASTIAN KETTLEY
PUBLISHED: 07:52, Fri, Jan 24, 2020 | UPDATED: 07:54, Fri, Jan 24, 2020

At least 738 earthquakes have rocked the Philippines volcano since it first erupted on January 12 this year. Taal volcano was seen spewing a column of smoke and steam between 164ft and 1,654ft (50m and 500m) into the sky early on Friday, January 24.

A Taal volcano update by the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) at midnight on Friday (8am local time) warned of imminent volcanic activity in the coming “hours to days”.

Taal volcano was showing signs of magmatic intrusion beneath the Taal edifice, which could trigger further “eruptive activity”.

Officials have urged local residents within an 8.6 mile (14km) radius from the volcano to immediately evacuate.

The current alert level is 4, meaning a “hazardous explosive eruption is possible”.

 

Taal volcano: The Philippines volcano could erupt in a 

matter of hours or days (Image: GETTY)

 

Taal volcano: 725 earthquakes have rocked Taal volcano

 since January 12 (Image: GETTY)

READ MORE

Taal volcano erupts: Philippines eruption blasts ash 9 miles up

The official Taal Volcano Bulletin for January 24 reads: "DOST-PHIVOLCS strongly reiterates total evacuation of Taal Volcano Island and high-risk areas identified in the hazard maps within the 14km radius from Taal Main Crater along the Pansipit River Valley where fissuring has been observed.”

Of the 738 earthquakes recorded since last week, at least 176 peaked at magnitudes 1.2 to magnitudes 4.1.

And between January 23 and January 24 local time, the Philippine Seismic Network (PSN) detected at least seven new volcanic tremors around Taal.

However, by Friday, the Taal Volcano Network has also recorded 486 smaller tremors undetectable by the PSN – a sign of magma moving deep underground.

Should the volcano erupt in the coming days, officials fear Taal will spew thick clouds of ash onto neighbouring regions.

Civil aviation authorities must advise pilots to avoid the airspace around Taal volcano

Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS)

A 3.1-mile-tall (5km) plume of ash is predicted to drift towards areas to the west and northwest of the volcano’s main crater.

A bigger eruption belching out a 4.3-mile-tall (7km) plume of ash is expected to reach Laguna and Quezon provinces.

The eruption will also pose a danger to aircraft passing near to the smokestack.
 

Taal volcano: The Philippines volcano sits in the Pacific Ring of Fire (Image: USGS)
 

Taal volcano: The smokestack from the volcano threatens aircraft (Image: GETTY)

The Taal Volcano Bulletin warned on Friday: “Residents around the volcano are advised to guard against the effects of heavy and prolonged ashfall.

“Civil aviation authorities must advise pilots to avoid the airspace around Taal volcano as airborne ash and ballistic fragments from the eruptions column pose hazards to aircraft.

“DOST-PHIVOLCS is continually monitoring the eruption and will update all stakeholders of further developments.”

Taal volcano erupted on January 12 this year after a 43-year-long slumber.

The initial blast was a phreatic one, meaning it was driven by steam rather than molten rock.

Taal volcano than erupted for a second time on January 13, this time magnetically.

The eruptions blanketed the nearby Batangas. Laguna, Cavite and parts of the Metropolitan Manila in ash.

On Wednesday morning, Taal volcano was not seen spewing ash into the skies.

Airlines have, however, notified officials volcanic ash at heights of about 19,000ft (5,800m) up.

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Taal volcano update: 77 earthquakes hit Philippines volcano overnight - Will Taal erupt?

TAAL VOLCANO could be brewing towards another eruption, authorities have warned after 77 earthquakes rocked the Philippines volcano in a single day

Between Sunday and Monday, at least 77 earthquakes rocked Taal volcano, according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS).

At 8am local time today (midnight GMT), the agency said Taal was showing signs of magma moving under the volcano.

The Taal Volcano Network reported an additional 11 harmonic earthquakes – a type of rhythmic tremor often preceding volcanic eruptions.

The harmonic earthquakes each lasted between one and four minutes.

PHIVOLCS said: “These earthquakes signify magmatic activity beneath the Taal edifice that could lead to eruptive activity at the Main Crater.”

Local residents have been told to avoid a 4.3-mile-wide danger zone around the active volcano.

Taal volcano has also been showing signs of activity around its crater.

Officials reported plumes of steam drifting from the volcano up to heights between 65.6ft and 164ft (20m and 50m).

The volcano has also been spewing dangerous amounts of toxic sulphur dioxide (SO2), which can cause breathing problems if inhaled.

PHIVOLCS said emissions on Saturday, February 8, peaked at 182 tons (166 tonnes) per day.

The ash, as you know, is a very good material for bricks

Hermilindo Mandanas, Batangas Governor

Taal volcano is one of the 24 active volcanoes in the Philippines.

Located in the Batangas province on Luzon Island, the fiery mountain roared into life in January this year after a 43-year-long sleep.

Taal volcano erupted on January 12 when it belched a thick column of smoke and ash into the skies, triggered by a steam-driven blast in the crater.

Taal volcano update: The volcano erupted on January 12 and January 13 this year (Image: GETTY)

A second eruption went off on January 13 when molten rock entered the volcano.

More than 480,000 people in Batangas were affected by the eruptions and widespread evacuation orders forced people to flee for their safety.

The volcano sits in the middle of Taal lake – a volcanic caldera that has filled with water – and is surrounded by villages, town and cities.

However, in a bid to make the best of the eruption, Batangas Governor Hermilindo Mandanas suggested using the fallout from Taal to manufacture bricks and crop fertiliser.

On Sunday he said: “The ash, as you know, is a very good material for bricks and for hollow bricks.”

He added: “Ash is very good fertiliser. That’s why the lands around Taal Lake are very fertile.”

But there is still a risk Taal could erupt again and PHIVOLCS has warned of sudden blasts, followed by intense ashfall, earthquakes and fissures in the ground.

PHIVOLCS said: “Communities beside active river channels particularly where ash from the main eruption phase has been thickly deposited should increase vigilance when there is heavy and prolonged rainfall since the ash can be washed away and form lahars along the channels.

“Civil aviation authorities must advise pilots to avoid flying close to the volcano as airborne ash and ballistic fragments from sudden explosions and wind-remobilised ash may pose hazards to aircraft.”

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Taal Volcano eruption: Philippine government fears repeat of Pinatubo disaster that killed 847 people

The chief state seismologist said Taal’s volcanic activity had previously lasted a few days but in one instance it had gone on for seven months

Officials also sought to dissuade vendors from selling protective face masks at inflated prices after cloud of volcanic ash blew north to Manila

Raissa Robles andCompiled by SCMP’s Asia desk
Published: 14 Jan, 2020

Philippines’ Taal Volcano eruption triggers dozens of quakes, mass evacuation
14 Jan 2020

Taal Volcano: as thousands flee ash-covered towns, some decide to stay home
15 Jan 2020


Ash spews into the air from Taal Volcano. Photo: EPA

The
Philippine government has issued a dire warning about the potential of
Taal Volcano to cause mass casualties, recalling the 1991 eruption of
Mount Pinatubo which killed 847 people.

“The entire mountain collapsed during the eruption [in 1991],” said Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, who also serves as chief of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.

“That’s what we’re fearing, that the eruption would cause the entire island to rise and scatter debris on the nearby areas,” Lorenzana said. “Hopefully this won’t happen. We can never predict the actions of this volcano.”

Taal Volcano continued to tremble on Tuesday as tens of thousands of people fled ash-blanketed villages in the danger zone.

Fountains of red-hot lava spurted 500 metres into the sky with dark plumes of ash and steam reaching 2km. More than 200 earthquakes have been detected in and around Taal, 81 of which were felt with varying intensities.

“Such intense seismic activity probably signifies continuous magmatic intrusion beneath the Taal edifice, which may lead to further eruptive activity,” the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said.

Philippine’s Taal volcano blankets surrounding towns in grey ash

Chief state seismologist Renato Solidum warned that residents should not return to their homes within a 14km radius of the volcano. In the past, Taal’s volcanic activity had lasted several days but in one instance in the year 1754, it went on for seven months, he said.

Solidum said ashfall from the volcano was problematic as a thick layer of ash on the roofs of homes could cause them to collapse, while “every time the fine ash is whipped up by vehicles or strong wind people might still inhale it”.

Demand for N95 face masks have spiked in recent days since Taal first erupted on Sunday, sending a cloud of ash 65km north to the capital city, Manila and causing hundreds of flights to be cancelled, with thousands stranded at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport. The airport has since partially resumed operations.

Residents arrive at local school after being evacuated from the heavy ash and debris from the Taal Volcano eruption. Photo: AP

Government officials warned against profiteering from the demand for masks, as supplies ran low and reports surfaced that masks were being sold for 200 pesos (US$4), a significant increase from the usual 30 pesos.

“Let us not use this occasion to prey on others,” Manila Vice Mayor Honey Lacuna-Pangan told local media.

The Chinese embassy in Manila donated 1,000 masks and the Philippines’ Department of Trade and Industry warned sellers found “profiteering” would be “dealt with to the fullest extent of the law”.

Lava, lightning and a ‘hazardous explosion within hours’, but for some Filipinos, an eerie calm
14 Jan 2020



In response, President Rodrigo Duterte suggested prices for masks, which filter airborne particles, could be capped.

“Those who cannot afford masks, we will give it free ... in times of crisis all I can do to manage the situation is [to ask] the military and police,” Duterte told reporters on Monday evening, also indicating he planned to visit the affected area on Tuesday.

The location of Taal Volcano.


When asked where he was fit enough to visit the area, Duterte replied: “I could even eat the ashfall and pee on Taal.”

Duterte also called on employers to suspend work due to the ashfall.

Taal Volcano is the most deadly in the Philippines, killing more than 6,000 in its history
14 Jan 2020


“We do not control everybody,” he said. “So, what we can only do is to tell them – and usually the statement or the narrative of the government is always a persuasive effect.”

The Department of Labour and Employment said employees who “fail or refuse to work by reason of imminent danger resulting from natural or man-made calamity should not be exposed to or subject to any administrative sanction”.

Chino Vaflor and Kat Bautista Palomar. Photo: Randolf Evan/Instagram


On Sunday, just as the volcano was erupting, Chino Vaflor and Kat Bautista Palomar were getting married at a venue less than 10km away.

“We noticed white smoke coming out of Taal during preparations around 2pm and from then on we knew something unusual was already going on with the volcano,” Randolf Evan, the couple’s wedding photographer who captured the explosion, told the BBC.

Evan said they all felt they were “definitely safe as the venue was on higher ground and not directly around the volcano’s vicinity”.

This was the condition of the horses in Taal uploaded 4 hours ago. Sana matulungan pa sila
pic.twitter.com/O0hYFpW2Te — ʸᵛᵃⁿ (@Cutiiesaurus)
January 13, 2020

Meanwhile, ING Bank also warned the disruption from Taal Volcano could create a “temporary speed bump” for the Philippine economy. The areas affected host industrial and car assembly hubs, while the Department of Agriculture estimated damage to crops and livestock worth 75 million pesos (US$1.5 million).

About 36,000 people have been evacuated from 27 towns and cities in Batangas as of midnight and being accommodated in 130 shelters, according to the Office of Civil Defence. The province of Batangas, south of the capital, has been placed under a state of emergency.


Additional reporting by Bloomberg

Taal Volcano
Volcanoes
The Philippines
Natural disasters


Raissa Robles has written for the SCMP since 1996. A freelance journalist specialising in politics, international relations, business and Muslim rebellion, she has contributed to Reuters, the Economist Intelligence Unit, Daily Mail, Times of London, Radio Netherlands and Asiaweek. She runs the award-winning investigative and opinion blog, raissarobles.com. Her book, Marcos Martial Law: Never Again, a brief history of the dictatorship won the 2017 National Book Awards for Non-Fiction. Her Twitter handle is @raissawriter.

TAAL ORDER

Philippines: lava gushes from Taal volcano as alert level raised

Thousands of people have been forced to flee as scientists warn of imminent eruption

Associated Press Mon 13 Jan 2020

1:06 Taal volcano: lightning and giant plumes of smoke with 'explosive eruption' forecast – video


Red-hot lava gushed out of the Taal volcano in the Philippines on Monday, with seismologists warning an eruption could happen any time.

A day after a plume of ash and steam forced villagers to flee and shut down Manila’s international airport, offices and schools, scientists said they were caught out by the volcano’s sudden activity.

“The speed of escalation of Taal’s volcanic activity caught us by surprise,” Maria Antonia Bornas, chief science research specialist at the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, told reporters.

“We have detected magma. It’s still deep, it hasn’t reached the surface. We still can expect a hazardous eruption any time.”

There were no immediate reports of casualties or major damage from the eruption south of the capital, which began on Sunday. But clouds of ash blew more than 100km (62 miles) north to Manila, forcing the shutdown of the country’s main airport, with more than 240 international and domestic flights cancelled. The airport partially reopened later on Monday.
Lightning strikes as a column of ash rises from

the Taal volcano on Sunday.

 Photograph: Ezra Acayan/Getty Images

The government’s disaster-response agency reported about 8,000 villagers had moved to at least 38 evacuation centres in the hard-hit province of Batangas and nearby Cavite province, but officials expect the number to swell with hundreds of thousands more being brought out of harm’s way.


Terrawatch: the recipe for an explosive volcano eruption

Some residents could not move out of ash-blanketed villages due to a lack of transport and poor visibility, while officials said others refused to leave their homes.

“We have a problem, our people are panicking due to the volcano because they want to save their livelihood, their pigs and herds of cows,” the mayor of Balete, Wilson Maralit, told DZMM radio. “We’re trying to stop them from returning and warning that the volcano can explode again any time and hit them.”

A boy guides an outrigger canoe in the lake 

around Taal volcano on Sunday. 

Photograph: Ted Aljibe/AFP via Getty Images

Maralit, whose town lies on Taal Lake surrounding the erupting volcano, appealed for troops and additional police to be deployed to stop distraught residents from sneaking back to their high-risk coastal villages.

After months of restiveness that began last year, Taal suddenly rumbled back to life on Sunday, blasting steam, ash and pebbles 10-15km (6-9 miles) into the sky, according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology.

The government volcano-monitoring agency raised the danger level around Taal three notches to level 4, indicating “an imminent hazardous eruption.”

Residents evacuate the ash-choked streets of 

Batangas. Photograph: Eloisa Lopez/Reuters

Level 5, the highest, means a hazardous eruption is under way and could affect a larger area with high-risk zones that would need to be cleared of people, said the head of the institute, Renato Solidum, who heads the institute

Bornas said lava spurted out in fountains out of the volcano early Monday, while its ash and steam ejections eased. She said it was hard to tell when the eruption would stop, citing Taal’s similar restiveness in the 1970s, which lasted for about four months.
Residents of Tagaytay city look out over the

 erupting volcano. Photograph: Eloisa Lopez/Reuters

With the steam and ash easing Monday, some residents began to shovel away the thick coating of ash coating the town of Tagaytay, a popular upland resort city on a ridge that overlooks the volcano.

Usually bustling with traffic and tourists, many of Tagaytay’s restaurants and coffee shops were closed, its main road covered in filth and mud.

The volcanology institute reminded the public that the small island where the volcano lies is a “permanent danger zone”, although fishing villages have existed there for years.

It stressed that the “total evacuation” of people on the island and coastal areas, with a high risk of pyroclastic flows and volcanic tsunami in a 14km radius from Taal.

Aviation officials must advise airplanes to avoid flying at a certain distance from the volcano “as airborne ash and ballistic fragments from the eruption column pose hazards to aircraft,” it said.

Taal Volcano erupts in Philippines
Updated  Mon January 13, 2020
Residents prepare their boats to evacuate while the Taal Volcano erupts in Talisay, Philippines, on Monday, January 13. Tens of thousands were evacuated and tremors were felt in nearby villages amid an eruption of the country's second-most-active volcano near Manila.Jes Aznar/The New York Times/Redux
Taal Volcano in the Philippines has sent an eruption plume a kilometer above the crater, according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology.
The agency says Taal is showing a "fast escalation" in volcanic activity and could erupt lava within weeks.
Evacuation orders have been ordered for three towns in Batangas, Luzon, according to CNN affiliate CNN Philippines. Flights have been disrupted at Manila International Airport.

The state-run Philippines News Agency reported that minor earthquakes have also been recorded. 

 THE REST OF THE CNN PHOTO ESSAY HERE 

A youth living at the foot of Taal volcano rides an outrigger canoe while the volcano spews ash as seen from Tanauan town in Batangas province, south of Manila, on January 13, 2020. TED ALJIBE/AFP via Getty Images

Philippines residents have been warned of a possible 'volcanic tsunami' after a major volcano spewed lava and launched ash into the sky

A volcano in the Philippines began spewing lava on Monday local time after a sudden eruption a day earlier sent ash flying half a mile into the sky. 

The Taal volcano began emitting huge plumes of smoke on Sunday, leading thousands to evacuate and causing flights at Manila's international to be temporarily suspended. 

Authorities have raised the alert level in the area to a four out of five, meaning that a "hazardous explosive eruption is possible within hours to days."

Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

A volcano in the Philippines began spewing lava on Monday local time after a sudden eruption a day earlier sent ash flying half a mile into the sky. 

The Taal volcano, located about 70 kilometers (45 miles) south of the capital Manila, began emitting huge plumes of smoke on Sunday. 

A map of the Taal Volcano in relation to the Philippine capital of Manila. Business Insider/Google Maps

It is the second-most active volcano in the Philippines, according to the BBC. 

According to a bulletin issued by the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, PHIVOLCS, the volcano began to emit steam on Sunday at 1 p.m. local time, which progressed into a "magmatic eruption" by Monday morning, which is characterized by weak lava fountaining followed by thunder and lightning.

On Sunday, the volcano generated ash plume which shot out one kilometer (0.6 miles) into the sky, according to Reuters. 

According to a bulletin issued by PHIVOLCS, the volcano began to emit steam on Sunday at 1 p.m. local time, which progressed into a "magmatic eruption" by Monday morning, which is characterized by weak lava fountaining followed by thunder and lightning. Ezra Acayan/Getty Images

On Sunday, the alert level for the estimated 450,000 people residing within a 14-kilometer (8.6 mile) radius near the volcano was raised to a level four (out of five) and remained in effect on Monday morning. 

The monitoring agency warned on Monday morning that this alert meant that a "hazardous explosive eruption is possible within hours to days."

The agency also warned that those residing in the area of the volcano were at risk of "volcano tsunamis," which are often caused by tectonic movement from volcanic activity.

"Areas in the general north of Taal volcano are advised to guard against the effects of heavy and prolonged ashfall," the agency said. 

TAGAYTAY, PHILIPPINES - JANUARY 12: A column of ash surrounds the crater of Taal Volcano as it erupts on January 12, 2020 as seen from Tagaytay city, Cavite province, Philippines. Local authorities have begun evacuating residents near Taal Volcano as it began spewing ash up to a kilometer high Sunday afternoon. The Philippine Institute of of Volcanology and Seismology has raised the alert level to four out of five, warning that a hazardous eruption could take place anytime. Ezra Acayan/Getty Images

PHIVOLCS also advised aircraft to avoid flying through the airspace above the volcano to protect themselves from ash and ballistic fragments. 

Volcanic ash spread as far as Quezon City north of Manila on Sunday, prompting the Manila International Airport Authority to temporarily suspended flights at Manila's Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

The sudden conditions at the volcano forced nearly 8,000 people to evacuate as of 6 a.m. on Monday, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Philippines. 

According to PHIVOLCS, lava was observed shooting out of the volcano at around 3:20 a.m. on Monday.

—PHIVOLCS-DOST (@phivolcs_dost) January 12, 2020There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries. 
Video UN OCHA Asia Pacific showed huge plumes of billowing up into the sky. The agency said emergency response is ongoing. 
—UN OCHA Asia Pacific (@OCHAAsiaPac) January 13, 2020The Taal volcano is located on the big island on Luzon in the Batangas province. According to the BBC, it is one of the world's smallest volcanoes, and has recorded 34 eruptions over the last 450 years. 

The volcano is located in the Pacific Ring of Fire, an area of the Pacific Ocean where many earthquakes and eruptions occur. 

According to CNN, Mariton Bornas, chief of volcano monitoring at PHIVOLCs, said the agency measured tremors at the volcano in March 2019 though Sunday's eruption came as a surprise.

MANILA (Reuters) - A volcano near Manila spewed a massive cloud of ash that drifted across the Philippine capital on Sunday, forcing the cancellation of flights and closure of schools and government offices as authorities warned of a possible "explosive eruption".

Thousands of people were evacuated from the area near Taal volcano after it suddenly shot a column of ash and steam as high as 15 km (nine miles) into the sky. Lightning crackled inside the smoke and tremors shook the ground.

Taal, one of the world's smallest active volcanoes, sits in the middle of a lake about 70 km (45 miles) south of the center of the capital, Manila. Authorities said there was a risk that an eruption could cause a tsunami in the lake.

"Taal is a very small volcano, but a dangerous volcano," Renato Solidum, head of The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs), told Reuters. "It is unique because it is a volcano within a volcano."

The institute raised the danger level posed by the volcano to 4 out of a possible 5 - meaning "hazardous explosive eruption is possible within hours to days."

 

A view of the Taal volcano eruption seen from Tagaytay, Philippines January 12, 2020 in this still image taken from social media video. Jon Patrick Laurence Yen via REUTERS

The Philippines lies on the "Ring of Fire," a belt of volcanoes circling the Pacific Ocean that is also prone to earthquakes.

One of the most active volcanoes in the Philippines, Taal has erupted more than 30 times in the past five centuries, most recently in 1977. An eruption in 1911 killed 1,500 people and one in 1754 lasted for a few months.

"That is the worst case scenario," Solidum said.

THOUSANDS EVACUATED

About 8,000 residents of the volcano island and other high-risk towns were being evacuated, with about 6,000 already out of the danger zone by Sunday evening, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council told reporters.

The volcano and its surroundings are a popular weekend getaway from Manila.

The drifting ash forced the cancellation of 172 flights in and out of the international airport on Sunday. General Manager Ed Monreal said flights would also be suspended on Monday because there was ash on the runway.

President Rodrigo Duterte's office ordered the suspension of government work in the capital and of all school classes in Manila and other areas affected by the ash. A statement advised private companies to follow suit.

In Manila, long queues formed in shops selling face masks as health officials warned of possible breathing problems for people with respiratory ailments and urged the public to stay indoors and use dust masks when going out.

"When I went to my car to bring my groceries, I saw it was covered in ash. So I hurriedly went back inside to buy a mask from a drugstore but they had run out," said Angel Bautista, 41, a resident of Paranaque city, south of the capital.

Taal's ash plume was clearly visible from the city of Tagaytay, a well-frequented viewing spot for the volcano.

"We were having lunch when we heard rumbling. We saw the volcano erupting. It rained and some small pebbles fell to the ground," Jon Patrick Yen, a restaurant customer in Tagaytay, told Reuters.

"I did not expect to see such spectacle. We just went by to eat."

(By Enrico Dela Cruz and Karen Lema. Additional reporting by Peter Blaza; Editing by Matthew Tostevin and Kirsten Donovan)

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SEE  https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/search?q=VOLCANO

SEE  https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/search?q=PHILIPPINES

SEE  https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/search?q=TAAL

SEE  https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/search?q=NATURAL+DISASTERS

Why the Taal volcano's eruption created so much lightning

Lightning during the Taal volcano eruption on Jan. 12, 2020.

IMAGE: ROUELLE UMALI/XINHUA VIA GETTY

BY MARK KAUFMAN5 HOURS AGO

After sleeping for over 40 years, the Philippines' Taal volcano awoke over the weekend, blasting a plume of ash at least 32,000 feet into the sky.

And in this ominous plume, thunder clapped and lightning streaked through the dark column of volcanic ash. 

The profoundly dangerous Taal — with over 24 million people living within 60 miles of the volcano — produced a scintillating, at times mesmerizing, light show. (Taal's activity also prompted a mass evacuation of almost 1 million people should there be a bigger eruption.)

Volcanic lightning, however captivating, is common, explained Sonja Behnke, a scientist at Los Alamos National Laboratory who researches these volcanic phenomena and has repeatedly observed volcanic lightning in places like Iceland and Japan.

Snapshots of Taal volcano eruption.

Keep safe everyone. 🙏🏻 pic.twitter.com/xgUjs1ZXhX

— shuajo (@joshibob_) January 12, 2020

If you're mesmerized by the steamy #Taal eruption plume and wondering why it's creating so much #VolcanicLightning, you’re not alone. Here’s a micro-crash course on the physics of volcanic thunderstorms for non-specialists. Thanks to @joshibob_ for the incredible footage! (1/14) pic.twitter.com/CCl6zw56RZ

— Alexa Van Eaton (@volcaniclastic) January 13, 2020

How volcanic lightning happens

There are two major steps.

1. First, the volcanic ash needs an electric charge. When a volcano erupts explosively (as opposed to gentler lava eruptions from, for example, Hawaiian volcanoes), it ejects exploded particles of molten rock (aka "magma") into the air, which becomes volcanic ash. In the towering plume of ash, these billions of particles start colliding and rubbing against each other, which creates charged volcanic particles. It's similar to how you create static electricity by rubbing socks on carpet. "The ash gets charged as the volcano is erupting," said Behnke.

"It’s essentially the same reason we get lightning and thunder in storm clouds," added atmospheric scientist Adam Varble, who researches thunderstorms at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. "It's the collision of particles." But in storm clouds, instead of ash particles rubbing together, it's only ice particles colliding together to create electric charges.

2. Then, to get bolts of lightning, the charged particles need to separate into different regions of a volcano's ash plume. In the chaotic plume, this happens naturally as differently sized ash particles fall down at different speeds, creating different zones of charged particles, either positive or negative. (What gives one region of particles a positive or negative charge is "complicated physics" that's still being investigated, explained Varble.) 

But the important point is when you have two regions of oppositely charged particles, the space between becomes an electric field, which allows electricity to shoot or flow through the air. These are the bolts of lightning you see streaking through storm clouds or volcanic plumes.

Dramatic video shows bolts of lightning as a volcano spews ash up to nine miles into the air in the Philippines.

The country has raised the alert level, meaning an "explosive eruption" could happen in the coming hours or days: https://t.co/28tNsT07uQ pic.twitter.com/VV04MoFDQR

— CNN (@CNN) January 13, 2020

These radiant bolts of lightning, whether in volcanic plumes or thunderstorms, are powerful, creating between 10 million volts to billions of volts, explained Varble. (Toasters usually operate at between 120 to 220 volts.) 

Taal certainly created lots of lightning. That's likely because the plume reached so high into the freezing atmosphere that water ejected during the eruption turned into little ice particles, which also started colliding and creating static electricity, explained Behnke. This means there was a double whammy of both ash and ice creating charged particles.

There may have been a lot of water in Taal's ashy plume, because a lake sat on top of the volcano, meaning the eruption blew through a lake. 

"It seems like volcanoes that have a good interaction with water when erupting get more dramatic displays of lighting," said Behnke.  

For volcano scientists, volcanic lightning is more than just a natural spectacle. The U.S. Geological Survey now uses lightning to track volcanic eruptions as they happen, said Behnke.

Many eruptions happen in remote places and aren't directly observed by people. But lightning is detectable from satellites, which gives scientists' better insight into the planet's constantly erupting volcanoes. 

"It's very common during explosive ash-producing eruptions," Alexa Van Eaton, a USGS volcanologist, tweeted. "So common, in fact, that we use it to help monitor volcanism around the world."

What’s causing lightning during the Philippines eruption? Experts explain the phenomenon

BY EMERALD BENSADOUN GLOBAL NEWS

Posted January 13, 2020 5:31 pm WATCH: Video captures rare volcanic lightning sprawl upwards from Philippines volcanoAs the Taal volcano erupts  near Manila, Philippines, blanketing the surrounding island of Luzon in thick plumes of ash and sending streaks of lightning into the sky, volcanic experts break down the science behind the phenomenon.
Not all volcanoes emit lightning when they erupt, but the spectacle, they say, is hardly rare.

Volcanic lighting is “actually pretty common,” particularly with eruptions
that produce a lot of ash, said Melanie Kelman, a volcanologist at Natural Resources Canada.

 

Volcanic lightning caused by eruption is seen over Tagaytay City, Cavite province, Philippines Jan. 12, 2020. @DERRICKQUIBAEL via REUTERS

According to Kelman, the phenomenon begins when water interacts with magma in an explosive fragmentation of hot rock under Lake Taal

The rocks, which erupt as a result of the explosion, break into even smaller particles known as volcanic ash.

READ MORE: Tens of thousands flee as red-hot lava gushes from volcano near Manila

“The finer the ash, the more likely you are to get lightning, she said. “When an explosive volcanic eruption produces an ash column, collisions between ash particles (which may be thousandths of a millimetres in size) produce friction, which generates electrical charge.”

A turbulent column of volcanic ash rises, creating a plume full of charged particles that eventually plummets, covering the ground in ash. Particles crash into one another, illuminating the skies with hazardous lightning.

Volcanic lightning is a lot like a thunderstorm

“You have to imagine that obviously there are millions of billions of particles which are ejected in these clouds, that carry some charges with them,” said another volcanologist, Corrado Cimarelli.

He said electrical charges dispatched through static electricity are the essence of volcanic lightning.

Cimarelli, who teaches physical and experimental volcanology at Germany’s Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, told Global News the process, called “tribal electrification,” is similar to the way lightning forms during thunderstorms.

“The reason why they actually charge is because they collide against each other,” said Cimarelli.

“If you have a series of particles which are grouped together and they have a specific polarity — a positive or negative, and they are distant enough to basically break the electrical insulation of the air in between — then you will have a discharge happening.”

0:38Timelapse captures eruptions inside Taal volcano’s main crater in Philippines

 Timelapse captures eruptions inside Taal volcano’s main crater in Philippines

According to Cimarelli, these charged particles are then lofted up into the atmosphere at high altitudes — about six or 10 kilometres in in the case of the Taal volcano — where they then freeze and circulate inside the plume.

The ice that forms is “actually the carrier of charges into the thunderstorms,” he said.

But the explosiveness of the eruption, the size of the ash, the presence of ice particles, and the water content and temperature of the volcanic plume all play roles in the number and size of lightning discharges.

 Lightning flashes as Taal Volcano erupts on Jan. 12, 2020, in Tagaytay, Cavite province, outside Manila, Philippines. Bogie Calupitan / The Associated Press

“There is some evidence that eruptions with more water produce less lightning — this may be because wet eruptions tend to be more explosive, and more explosive eruptions may scatter ash particles over a larger area, resulting in fewer ash particle collisions,” said Kelman.

The temperature of the environment wouldn’t matter, but the amount of water available has the potential to create larger explosions.

“If a volcano is near or in the ocean, if there is a lake in a volcanic crater, if there is a lot of groundwater, if there is a lot of water dissolved in the magma, or if there are glaciers on a volcano that can be melted to produce water, then an eruption may be more explosive than it would have been otherwise,” she said.

“More water tends to lead to greater explosivity, resulting in finer ash.”

READ MORE: Villagers flee, airport closes after small volcano erupts near Manila

Not your typical campfire ash

Since the volcano’s eruption, Filipino authorities have begun evacuating thousands of people near the capital of Manila, going so far as to urge a full evacuation.

The Department of Science and Technology at the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology raised the alert status to Level Four and urged a total evacuation of Taal Volcano Island within a 14-kilometre radius from the volcano’s main crater.

Civil aviation authorities were advised to avoid flying near the volcano due to “airborne ash and ballistic fragments from the eruption column.”

 

Taal Volcano erupts, sending bolts of lightning into the sky on Jan. 12, 2020, in Tagaytay, Cavite province, outside Manila, Philippines. Aaron Favila / The Associated Press

The warning echoed the 2010 eruption of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano in southern Iceland, which saw 800 people evacuated from the region and the closure of European air spaces for several days thereafter.

Kelman said ash is more volatile than it appears, and is actually shattered volcanic rock.

“It’s not like ash from a campfire, which is soft and organic and it dissolves. Volcanic ash is like sand. So tiny particles of it are a hazard to aircraft … because they can sandblastst any surface, including the windshield or the control surfaces,” said Kelman.

“The ash particles can go into any part of the airplane or like instruments for navigation and whatnot. And then really critical is that the ash can go into the engine and melt and then be re-deposited on the the turbine blades. So it can cause jet engines to stall.”

Taal: Time-lapse of lightning storm swirling round Philippine volcano

Time-lapse footage has captured a lightning storm swirling in dark clouds around the peak of the Taal volcano in the Philippines.

The volcano had spewed a giant plume of ash, prompting thousands of people to be evacuated.

Officials said the plume from the Taal volcano stretched 1km (0.6 miles) into the sky.

Read more: Taal volcano: Lava spews as 'hazardous eruption' feared

• 12 Jan 2020