Philippines, Volcanic Eruption, Mount Taal in Calabarzon

• On 15 February 2021, Taal Volcano’s monitoring network recorded a series of fifty (50) relatively weak tremor episodes beginning 5:00AM until 3:00PM, 15 February 2020. These tremor episodes ranged in duration from two (2) to five (5) minutes and occurred at shallow depths of <1km, signaling increased hydrothermal activity beneath Taal Volcano Island (TVI). Since 13 February 2021, a total of 68 shallow tremor episodes have occurred in TVI. Furthermore, geochemical data on the Main Crater Lake indicate a continuous acidification of lakewater from pH 2.79 to pH 1.59 between January 2020 and February 2021, an unseasonal temperature high of 77°C and CO2/H2S gas flux ratios consistent with shallow magma degassing. Ground deformation data from continuous electronic tilt on Volcano Island record a slight deflation localized around the Main Crater, although very slightly inflation from GPS data and InSAR analysis and positive microgravity changes have been steadily recorded across the Taal region consistent with continuous magmatic degassing and hydrothermal unrest. • On 16 February 2021, 8:00 AM, in the past 24-hour period, the Taal Volcano Network recorded ninety-eight (98) tremor episodes having durations of five (5) to twelve (12) minutes. Activity in the Main Crater consisted of weak emission of white steam-laden plumes from fumaroles that rose 5 meters high. Temperature highs of 77.1°C and pH of 1.59 were last measured from the Main Crater Lake on 12 February 2021. Ground deformation parameters from continuous electronic tilt on Volcano Island record a slight deflation around the Main Crater since October 2020 but overall, very slow and steady inflation of the Taal region has been recorded by continuous GPS data after the eruption. On-going pre-emptive evacuation of residents in Taal Volcano Island – Sitio Tabla and Sitio San Isidro, Talisay, Batangas (63 families/ 200 individuals)