Several netizens are circulating a clip allegedly showing the eruption of Taal Volcano last Sept. 21. It’s not true.
“As of Today Sept. 21 ito na po ang itsura ng bulkan keep safe po sa mga malalapit na area (As of today, Sept. 21, this is what the volcano looks like. To those who are near the area, keep safe), read the caption of a video uploaded that day by a TikTok user.
This is an old video, according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs)’s Volcano Monitoring and Eruption Prediction Division (VMEPD).
“These were definitely taken during the beginning of the 2020 Taal eruption, made evident by the presence of already obliterated foliage on Volcano Island,” Ma. Antonia Bornas, chief senior research specialist of Phivolcs VMEPD, told VERA Files Fact Check in a Sept. 25 email.
Taal Volcano spewed gas, ash and lava into the air on Jan. 12, 2020, and in the following days and weeks covered its surrounding landscape with heavy ash, effectively killing plants and animals on the volcano island.
Side-by-side comparisons show that the circulating video shows the same plumes of ash and steam seen in other footage of Taal Volcano’s eruption two years ago.
Note: Click on the photos to view the videos’ original source.
Meanwhile, Phivolcs only noted steam plumes – not ash plumes – from Taal volcano last Sept. 21. A live feed on Facebook of the volcano streamed from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. by the municipality of Talisay, Batangas did not show Taal spewing out the same volume of material as it did in January 2020.
Note: Click on the photos to view the videos’ original source.
VERA Files Fact Check flagged a total of six Facebook (FB) Reels, three Instagram Reels and three TikTok posts that resurfaced the old video of Taal volcano this month. These garnered a total of 1.84 million interactions.
The video appeared hours after the Phivolcs issued an advisory about vog released from the volcano’s main crater.
In a Sept. 24 update, the Phivolcs said that the Taal Volcano is under Alert Level 1 or low-level unrest. The volcano may release sudden steam or steam-blast (phreatic) explosions, volcanic earthquakes, thin ashfall, and toxic gases, the agency warned.
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