uu--NAtion
lo/ffi$
Taal explosive eruption
TAAL Volcano could still eruPt
explbsively as magma rises from
its bottom, even ifits most recent
' clerified that ihis \a/as not
eruptions seemed weaker, tlle
country's chief seisirologist said
onWednesday.
Residents should staY out of
the volcano's l4-kilometer dan-
ger zone until the alert level,
now at 4, is lowered, Renato
U. Solidum, Jr., director of the
Philippine Institute of Volcd-
nology and Seismology, said
at a briefing streamed live on
Facebook.
Ih:s;in*ss\lbrld
"Generally, eruptions in the
past days have been weaker,"
Mr. Solidum said in Filipinq but
trend.
a
"Itt still possible that more
magma u/ill come up andvthen that
happens very fast, there codd be
an explosive eruptiorl" he added.
The Philippines lies in the so-
called Pacific '?ing of Fire," a belt
of volcanoes around the Pacific
Ocean where most of the vrorld's
earthqua.kes stdke.
Taal Volcano's activity "has
been characterized by continuous
but generally wea.ker eruPtion of
the Main Crater due to magmatic
and hydrovolcanie processgsi the
agency said in its 8 a.m. repolt on
wednesday.
The +gency has detected 'tr66
volpanic earthquakes since Jan.
12, 156 qf which were felt with
intensities ranging from I to 5.
"Such inten!6 seismic ac-
tivityprobabty sjgnifies con-
tinuous m aEmaiic intrusion
beneath the Taal edifice, which
may lead to further eruPtive
:l it said.
activitv'l
l
\ PA,ge- 'toftta
still not ruled out
Alert Level 4 remained hoist-
ed, which means that "hazardous
explosive eruption is Possible
within hours to days."
Meanwhile, Mr. Solidum be-
lied allegations about the lack of
information dissemination about
the volcano, noting that they had
been issuing notices about its ac-
tivity since last year.
Barza$,
Cavite Rep. Elpidio F.
Jr. has filed a resolution asking
the House of Representatives to
investigate if Phivolcs had given
enough warning to residents.
Also on Wednesday, Bayan
Muna Rep. Carlos Isagani T. Za
rate renewed his call to pass a
bill that h9 filed seeking to b; d
evacuatron centers for victims of
natural calarnities:
He said permanent evacuation
centers that are tyPhoon:, earth-
quake- and disaster-resistant
are needed : not just basketball
courts and schools - to ensure
the safety of victims.
These centers will also have a
stockpile of relief goods as Pro-
posed by his bill, Mr. Zarate said.
Urider the bill, a permanent
evacuation center will be located
at the centef of every two or ttrree
contiguous villages that can ac-
commodate the population ofthe
communitiei.
"We can save lives by ensuring
that sturdy and disaster-resil-
ient, climate change-adaptil'e
evacuation centers are located
at a distance safe from vr'aters
and landslide-prone areas in
every two to three contiguous
barangays," Mr. Zarate said. - )
Genshen L. Espedido