Calawit residents return to Taal Volcano Island to check on homes, livestock
Robie de Guzman • January 15, 2020 • 186
MANILA, Philippines – “Lubog na lahat.”
This was how several residents in Barangay Calawit in Balete, Batangas described the scene they saw when they returned to their homes in Taal Volcano Island despite threats of an imminent hazardous explosion.
Robert Cacao was among the residents who braved danger to check on their homes and livestock which is their means of living.
Using his boat, Cacao sailed the lake despite warnings issued by local authorities not to return home as Taal Volcano continues to spew ash.
He said he was hoping to save their animals and fetch personal belongings as they only carried their bare essentials when they fled their home on Sunday when Taal’s phreatic eruption started.
When he reached the shore, he was devastated to see his home destroyed and all his livestock killed.
He also felt crushed when he saw their entire barangay covered in ash, the tips of their homes only visible to the eye, and the once green and teeming island now looked dull, gray and barren.
With nothing left to return to, he went back to the evacuation center in Bauan, Batangas to tell his family and neighbors of what he found in the island.
“Galing ho kami kanina sa bulkang Taal katunayan nga ho ay inabot kami duon ng putok ng bulkan. Binisita ho namin ang bahay doon, wala na ho lubog na. Tsaka ang buong isla na dating mapuno, ngayon ho ay puro lupa na,” he said.
He also found that all his live goats were dead, and the two boats he used to make a living in shambles.
“Hindi naman namin alam na gayo’y puputok na, nagtakbuhan na rin ho. Kaniya-kaniya ng likas ang nangyari,” he said.
Local authorities have prohibited evacuees from returning to their homes amid the ongoing eruption of Taal Volcano.
Alert level 4 has been raised over Taal Volcano, which means that a hazardous eruption is imminent within hours or days.
Cacao feels lost as to how he and his family will recover from the disaster.
He also appealed to the government to help them build their homes and find new means of living.
“Nanawagan kami na sana kami ay matulungan na mga biktima ng pagputok ng bulkan,” he said. – RRD (with details from Correspondent Sherwin Culubong)
The Philippine Navy (PN) donated P700,000 worth of relief goods to the municipality of San Luis in Batangas on Sunday (January 26).
According to the Philippine Navy, three evacuation sites where identified for the distribution of the relief goods: San Isidro Labrador Parish Church in Brgy. Poblacion, Taliba Evacuation Center in BrgyTaliba and San Luis Academy in Calumpang West.
Around 4,000 relief goods were given to the evacuees in the three said areas which include a pail, 1 kilo of rice, assorted canned goods, food packs, bottled waters and personal hygiene kits.
Other relief goods from various organizations were also distributed.
“150 mattress foamS from Uratex Company and dozens of various relief items from other PN stakeholders were also distributed in this activity,” according to the Philippine Navy.
Philippine Navy Flag Officer In Command Vice Admiral Robert A. Empedrad said he wants to ensure proper assistance is provided by the Philippine Navy before he retires. Empedrad will be retiring from office by next week.
“We are always willing to assist our stakeholders as we assure everyone that your Navy is always ready to serve in every situation and that you can always count on us,” he said.—AAC
MANILA, Philippines – Several schools in Tagaytay City and in Calabarzon region have begun preparing for the possible resumption of classes next week amid the continuing activities of Taal Volcano.
Calabarzon Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (RDRRMC) on Friday said some families temporarily staying in schools being used as evacuation centers have been transferred to other shelters.
Clean-up of classrooms which previously housed evacuees have also commenced in line with the directive of the Department of Education (DepEd).
“Kasi meron po tayong memorandum po from Department of Education na nagsasabing it should be 15 days after the disaster na dapat ay makabalik na sa mga regular schooling ang mga kabataan natin,” Calabarzon RDRRMC information officer Jovner Dupilas said.
From the previous 626 evacuation centers opened in the region, the number has gone down to 500 after they decongested some shelters to give way for the possible reopening of classes.
Dupilas added they are now identifying other facilities that may be used as temporary shelters for families who fled their homes amid the Taal Volcano unrest.
“Nag-iidentify tayo ng mga evacuation center na konti lang ‘yung bilang or ‘yung evacuation centers na hindi na ginagamit. For example, sa Sta. Rosa City, meron tayong regional evacuation center doon na ipinatayo at ngayon ay hindi pa ginagamit,” he said.
Some schools in Tagaytay that are blanketed by thick layers of ash spewed by Taal are also being cleaned.
Classes here were supposed to resume on January 23, Thursday but was postponed by local authorities.
“Isa sa dahilan po kaya hindi pa po kami nagpatuloy dahil hindi pa po lahat ng school ay ready. Tuloy-tuloy pa po yung paglilinis, kaya iyon po yung isa sa dahilan namin maliban po doon sa alert level,” Tagaytay City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office chief Jose Clyde Yayong said.
DepEd earlier said it would recommend the resumption of classes on February 3 in areas that were affected by the eruption of Taal Volcano.
“Because things are calming down in certain places [and] in the schools which we believe can already be reopened, classes can be resumed starting February 3,” DepEd Secretary Leonor Briones said at a press briefing Friday.
“There are places na mas natatamaan sa Cavite. There are places na mas natatamaan sa Laguna,” she added.
Areas in Batangas that are not heavily affected by the volcanic activities could reopen classes to accommodate learners displaced by the disaster, Briones said.
Data from the department revealed that 1,054 schools in Calabarzon (Region 4A: Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon) were affected by the suspension of classes as of January 23. Classes in some schools in the region were suspended indefinitely since Taal Volcano started erupting on January 12.
Although DepEd has recommended a date for the school reopening in the region, Yayong said they would have to depend on the updates and advise from the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs).
“Titingnan po namin kasi sabi nga naming, what if isang taon siyang maging alert level four? So, depende po sa obserbasyon ng Phivolcs na iyon po ang sinusunod namin,” he said.
Taal Volcano remains under alert level 4, which means a hazardous eruption is imminent.
As of January 24, Friday, Phivolcs reported that Taal emitted a tall column of thick steam anew, signifying that the heating up of volcanic materials underneath the crater has intensified. The number of recorded volcanic quakes also increased to 466 from Thursday’s 444. – RRD (with details from Correspondents Benedict Samson and Vincent Arboleda)
MANILA, Philippines — Taal Volcano spewed anew a tall column of thick, white steam early Friday morning (January 24).
Experts from the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) explained that the white steam-laden plumes of about 500 meters high that drifted towards the southwest direction signify that the heating up of volcanic materials underneath the crater has intensified.
In a press briefing, Volcano Monitoring Chief Ma. Antonia Bornas explained that the thick steam means that excessively hot volcanic materials are rising, causing the water to boil.
“Mayroon po kasi tayo talagang magma na umaakyat at ito po talaga ang binabantayan natin (The magma is still moving up and this is what we are monitoring at present),” Bornas said.
“Iyong steam ito po ay mula sa ground water or sa tubig ng lawa na sumisipsip sa ilalim ng lupa nung nagkaroon tayo ng fissuring at ito po ay nalilikha sa ibabaw ng magma dahil napakainit po nito at ibinubuga iyong steam (The thick steam came from ground water or the lake water that is drying up in the event of fissuring. There is evaporation going on top of the very hot magma thus steam is produced),” she added.
Bornas also noted the increase in sulfur dioxide (SO2) emission from 144 tons per day on Thursday (January 23) to an average of 224 tons per day on Friday.
Still, PHIVOLCS stressed that the high frequency of volcanic tremors indicates that the magma is continuously rising and may still result to an eruptive explosion.
Based on PHIVOLCS monitoring, Taal Volcano has generated 486 volcanic earthquakes including four low-frequency earthquakes.
The agency said Alert Level 4 still remains in effect over Taal Volcano which means a hazardous explosive eruption is possible within hours to days.
PHIVOLCS reiterates that forced evacuation of Taal Volcano island remains necessary as well as other identified high-risk areas where fissures are being observed.
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