The recent explosion of Taal Volcano, located in Talisay, Philippines has definitely made its presence known in the last few days as the whole country jitters in panic. Filipinos in face masks plague the city streets of Metro Manila and other parts of Tagaytay province due to the volcanic ash that the volcano let out. Thus, several schools, government, and private offices have been closed and operations have shut down due to the level 4 alert in Taal.
Metro Manila is not exactly close to Taal but the volcano’s intensity sprinkled some ashes onto the city, with slippery street walks, and dusty cars everywhere. As of January 13th, the Philippine Red Cross has announced that power and water supply in Talisay and Batangas areas have been off. Laurel, Barangay Sambong, Tagaytay City and Alfonso, Cavite has lost their electricity, causing a higher demand of aid in the province.
The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) has managed to send out 30 people as contingent help in evacuation and relief operations in Batangas most especially as it has been the most impacted from the eruption, according to Philippine Star.
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVLOCS) have declared Taal Volcano to be on alert level 4 but is expected to reach alert level 5 in the next few days to its magmatic eruption and lava fountaining past 2:00 am just this Monday. Filipinos all over the country have been on high alert as the last hazardous volcano eruption was nearly four decades ago, according to National Geographic. As of now, the country is on standby and waiting, hoping, and praying for Taal to quiet back down.
