We all remember our last major emergency before the pandemic hit—Taal volcano erupting on January 12, 2020. The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) raised the alert to Level 4 and ashfall spread over as far as the Ilocos Region. What was supposedly a perfect-vision year started with a natural disaster, foreshadowing an even bigger emergency of global scale.
And now 2021 comes around with Taal volcano roiling its insides again.
Monday, February 15, Officials in Batangas evacuated residents on Taal Volcano island due to “slightly increased activity.”
In a Facebook post, the Philippine Coast Guard showed its assets assisting residents in evacuation. The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said around 200 individuals from two sitios on Taal Volcano Island were evacuated.
Taal volcano was on Alert Level 1 on Monday morning, according to Phivolcs.