Phivolcs, ipinaliwanag ang sanhi ng nararanasang vog mula sa Bulkang taal
Phivolcs, ipinaliwanag ang sanhi ng nararanasang vog mula sa Bulkang taal
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00:00We are still in touch with the VAUG from the Taal Volcano.
00:04We will be joined by Dr. Teresito Bacolcol, the Director of PHIVOLCS.
00:09Good afternoon, Director Bacolcol.
00:12Yes, good afternoon to you too, ma'am.
00:15Alright, can we explain to our countrymen what the VAUG is experiencing right now?
00:21What is this?
00:23The VAUG, or what we call the Volcanic Smog, is a mixture of water vapor and particulates
00:30that contains sulfur dioxide.
00:32So when the hot volcanic materials come into contact with water,
00:37which is limited in the Taal,
00:38there is water in the Taal,
00:40there is a steaming.
00:42And this is the formation of white smoke that can be seen in the Taal Volcano.
00:49So now, along with the white smoke is the release of a lot of sulfur dioxide.
00:56On August 15, we had around 3,000 tons per day of sulfur dioxide.
01:02This is not a lot, but it just so happened that the wind was slow for the past three days.
01:10Not only in Batangas, but also here in Metro Manila.
01:13So our sulfur dioxide cannot be increased, it does not disperse, and it becomes a VAUG.
01:20Okay, so this VAUG is one of the measures to raise the alert level for a volcano?
01:31Our measures are not VAUG, but the sulfur dioxide emission.
01:36But again, this is just one.
01:38Again, as I've said, our sulfur dioxide was a bit low on August 15.
01:43And we also did not have a volcanic earthquake for the past 11 days since August 8.
01:50So for now, we still maintain the alert level 1 for the Taal Volcano.
01:53Alright, here in Metro Manila, the sky is a bit hazy.
01:58Is this the end of the VAUG, and how far can it reach?
02:04And is it possible for it to get worse?
02:07Well, as I've mentioned earlier, for the past three days,
02:10the wind speed in Metro Manila and Batangas was a bit slow.
02:16It only reached 1 meter per second.
02:18So in Batangas, our sulfur dioxide cannot be increased, it becomes a VAUG.
02:24Here in Metro Manila, our local pollutants cannot be increased.
02:29This is the reason why it's hazy, the area around us.
02:35Okay, is it possible for the sudden rain to help mitigate this VAUG?
02:43Or is it possible for this rain to spread to the VAUG?
02:48Well, we are just praying that it will rain.
02:54And it's easy to disperse the sulfur dioxide in the rain and water.
02:59Ah, I hope it will rain.
03:01Okay, so and finally, what can we remind our countrymen,
03:05especially those who live near Taal, Batangas, Tagaytay, and Laguna,
03:14what can they do for their safety?
03:18Okay, so we are asking our residents, our countrymen who live near Taal Volcano
03:24to avoid outdoor activities.
03:28They stay inside their houses and close their doors and windows.
03:32Now, if they cannot avoid going outside,
03:35they can protect themselves by wearing face masks, N95 if possible.
03:39And drink a lot of water because it's easy to,
03:42if we are exposed to sulfur dioxide,
03:47it's easy to dissipate the water, to dissolve the sulfur dioxide.
03:53Okay, we just received news that there was an earthquake in Northern Samar.
03:58What is your update on that?
04:01Yes, there was an earthquake earlier at 1139 magnitude 5.7
04:06and it was 54 kilometers deep.
04:09The epicenter is 34 kilometers north-east-west of Pagbuhan in Northern Samar
04:15and it's on the sea.
04:17The highest intensity in our airport is intensity 5,
04:22so we have Bubon, Katarman, Lawang, Lavizares, Palapag, Rosario, and San Roque in Northern Samar.
04:29And we are not expecting any damage, but we are expecting aftershocks.
04:34Are we expecting any tsunami nearby?
04:37No, we cannot expect a tsunami.
04:40Only if it's 5.7 and if it's deep.
04:45Okay, thank you very much for the time you gave us, Dr. Teresito Bacolcol,
04:50Director of PHIVOX. Good afternoon to all of you.