Driving amid the Thick Ash from Taal

REUTERS/ELOISA LOPEZ

A group of people in Tagaytay City, the Philippines, watch a column of hot ash rise from Mount Taal on Monday (13/1/2020), when the volcano erupted.

Early Monday morning, at around 1 a.m., Indonesian national Ferin, 31, and a number of colleagues and their family members decided to leave Tagaytay, the Philippines, to evacuate to Manila, the country\'s capital city. The spewing of ash and small rocks from Mount Taal, which is located about 32 kilometers from Tagaytay, has not stopped and was actually getting stronger. Moreover, the Adventist University of the Philippines (AUP) student in Cavite has a 9-month-old baby.

"Along the road, ash piled up between 5 centimeters and 10 cm in thickness," said Ferin, who along with two other members of his family, rushed to Manila in a car.

They traveled a distance of 80 kilometers in more than two hours.

"Possibly longer. Usually, by passing the toll road, it takes less than an hour. However, that morning, we needed more time. Besides being dark, the air was full of ash and road markings were not visible because they were covered with the ash. Luckily, the road was quiet," Ferin said.

Upon arriving in Manila, they headed for the Indonesian Embassy (KBRI). There, they met with other Indonesian citizens who had arrived earlier. The men were accommodated to a sports room, women went to the mushola (prayer room), while families with children were placed in rooms available at the Indonesian Embassy guesthouse.

Ferin saw since early Monday morning that Indonesian officials in Manila had prepared emergency measures.

"Starting at 8 a.m., the team picked up Indonesian citizens who needed help," Ferin said.

We are optimistic we can take care of them. Our food supply is sufficient.

As of Tuesday afternoon, according to a spokesman for the Indonesian Embassy in Manila, Agus Buana, up to 112 Indonesian citizens had sought shelter at the Indonesian Embassy in Manila. They consisted of students and families, as well as Indonesian citizens stranded at Manila International Airport.

Since Taal\'s rumblings started on Sunday, the Indonesian Embassy has contacted field coordinators at the AUP Campus and Adventist International Institute of Advanced Studies (AIIAS) in Cavite.

"At the AUP, we have 70 students and at AIIAS, there are 100 students," Agus said.

As many as 70 students from Indonesia have been evacuated from the UAP campus because electricity and water have been cut off, while from AIIAS, 11 people have been evacuated.

"On Tuesday, the water and electricity were shut down. So, maybe on Wednesday, 50 other people are expected to be evacuated to the Indonesian Embassy," said Agus.

Their location was estimated to be within a three-hour drive from Manila. The Indonesian Embassy has provided blankets and sleeping mats for them.

"We are optimistic we can take care of them. Our food supply is sufficient. The Indonesian diaspora and women\'s groups also support us, build awareness and togetherness by giving goods and food," said Agus.

The experience of handling hundreds of people who were deceived by a travel agent in 2016 enabled them to manage the hundreds of evacuees currently accommodated at the Indonesian Embassy.

ARSIP KBRI

Indonesian nationals gather in a lounge at the Indonesian Embassy in Manila on Tuesday (14/1/2020), after they were evacuated from danger zones around Mount Taal, which erupted on Monday.

Activities

Until Tuesday night, Mount Taal continued to spew hot lava as high as 800 meters. Residents living within a 10 km radius area from Taal were ordered to evacuate. Around 24,000 people have left the area.

Schools and private offices in Manila have been closed since Monday. Seismologists warned eruptions could occur at any time and have the potential to trigger a tsunami.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) stated that Mount Taal — the smallest and shortest volcano in the world with a height of only 311 meters —has already shown active activity in recent months.

Since the eruption began on Sunday, the level of vigilance related to the volcano had reached Level 5, namely the highest level, meaning the eruption was ongoing. However, on Tuesday, the alert level was at the fourth of the five-step alert level, meaning that another hazardous eruption was possible within hours to days.

According to Phivolcs, about 50 volcanic earthquakes were detected within eight hours on Tuesday. This indicated an emergence of magma.

"The speed of the emergence of magma is important in determining when a volcano will erupt strongly. Until now, we have not seen volcanic activity slowing down and the volcanic earthquakes still continue," said Renato Solidum, the director of Phivolcs.

Meanwhile, Maria Antonia Bornas, head of Science Research at Phivolcs, said the speed of escalation and Taal’s volcanic activity surprised the institute.

"We have detected magma. It is still deep; it has not yet reached the surface. However, dangerous eruptions can occur at any time," Bornas said.

AFP/TED ALJIBE

Three men walk through thick ash covering the streets of Agoncillo from the eruption of nearby Mount Taal on Monday (13/1/2020) in Batangas, the Philippines.

Flights

Temporarily closed, Ninoy Aquino International Airport has continued partial operations with select flights. On Sunday, more than 500 flights were delayed or canceled.

One of the flights on Monday carried Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, who was returning from his hometown, Davao, in the southern Philippines. Duterte could not fly on Sunday because of poor visibility.

Mount Taal has erupted more than 30 times in the last five centuries. The last one was in 1977. Mount Taal’s explosion killed up to 1,500 people and eruptions in 1754 happened for several months.

The Philippines, located in the "Ring of Fire" area, where many volcanoes surround the Pacific Ocean, is also vulnerable to earthquakes.

"We are afraid of what might happen to us. We think the volcano will erupt,” said Marilou Baldonado, 53, who left the city of Laurel by bringing only two sets of clothes after seeing a large ash cloud forming in the sky.

However, some foreign tourists even ignored the warnings about the danger and continued to travel to cities close to Mount Taal to get photographs of hot clouds.

"This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience for us," said a tourist from Israel, Benny Borenstein, while taking photographs of Mount Taal from the city of Tagaytay.