Eruption of TAAL VOLCANO- INDIAN EXPRESS- 15-01-2020

News:

In the Philippines, a volcano called Taal on the island of Luzon; 50 km from Manila has recently erupted.

Earlier records of eruption:

Taal has erupted more than 30 times in the last few centuries. Its last eruption was on October 3, 1977.
An eruption in 1965 was considered particularly catastrophic, marked by the falling of rock fragments and ashfall.

Before that, there was a “very violent” eruption in 1911 from the main crater. The 1911 eruption lasted for three days, while one in 1754 lasted for seven months.
Because it is a complex volcano with various features, the kinds of eruption too have been varied. An eruption can send lava flowing through the ground, or cause a threat through ash in the air.

Taal’s closeness to Manila puts lives at stake. Manila is a few tens of kilometres away with a population of over 10 million.

The volcano is currently at alert level 4, which means that a “hazardous eruption” could be imminent within a few hours to a few days.

Hazardous eruptions are characterised by intense unrest, continuing seismic swarms and low-frequency earthquakes.

About TAAL VOLCANO:

Taal is classified as a “complex” volcano. Taal has 47 craters and four maars (a broad shallow crater).
It is situated at the boundaries of two tectonic plates the Philippines Sea Plate and the Eurasian plate it is particularly susceptible to earthquakes and volcanism.

A complex volcano, also called a compound volcano, is defined as one that consists of a complex of two or more vents, or a volcano that has an associated volcanic dome, either in its crater or on its flanks.
Examples include Vesuvius, besides Taal.

The Taal volcano does not rise from the ground as a distinct, singular dome but consists of multiple stratovolcanoes (volcanoes susceptible to explosive eruptions), conical hills and craters of all shapes and sizes.