Taal status lowered to alert level 3,

Agoncillo and Laurel still under

lockdown
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 25) – State volcanologists lowered Taal Volcano’s
alert status to Level 3 on Sunday, two weeks after the volcano's eruption on January 12 that led
to a forced evacuation of thousands of families in the surrounding areas.

Volcanologists from Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) issued the
lower alert status following a decline in volcanic earthquakes, slower ground deformation in
Volcano Island and the volcano's caldera, and weak steam and gas emissions at its main crater.

Alert Level 3, a downgrade from the previous Level 4 that has been in place since January 12,
indicates a "decreased tendency towards hazardous explosive eruption," Phivolcs said.

However, this "should not be interpreted that (the volcano's) unrest has ceased or that the threat
of a hazardous eruption has disappeared."

"Should an uptrend or pronounced change in monitored parameters forewarn a potential

hazardous explosive eruption, the alert level may be raised back to Alert Level 4," Phivolcs
cautioned in its 8 a.m. bulletin on Sunday.

Even at Alert Level 3, there could be "sudden steam-driven and even weak phreatomagmatic
explosions, volcanic eartquakes, ashfall and lethal volcanic gas expulsions," it added.

Following this announcement, Batangas Governor Hermilando Mandanas said residents of all
towns, except Agoncillo and Laurel, may already return to their respective residences or place
of work.

Checkpoints supervised by military and police personnel are set up to keep order and maintain
security for the expected large numbers of residents going back to their residence.

More than 300,000 residents from nearby areas were evacuated. Military and police officials
also began a total lockdown of all 199 barangays and 15 municipalities and cities in Batangas
and Cavite which were marked as vulnerable to base surges and volcanic tsunami.

Source: https://cnnphilippines.com/news/2020/1/26/Taal-lowers-alert-level.html