Volcano near Manila erupts, with 7 earthquakes

Taal Volcano's minor phreatomagmatic eruption on Wednesday (November 12, 2025), is part of ongoing seismic activity, with 7 volcanic quakes recorded in the past 24 hours, indicating heightened unrest.

The eruption produced greyish plumes reaching 2,800 metres, drifting northeast, consistent with the volcano's history of significant events, including a 2020 eruption that displaced over 100,000 people.

Despite the eruption, Alert Level 1 remains, signalling low-level unrest but not a return to normalcy, as the threat of sudden steam-driven eruptions persists, say government volcanologists.

Phreatomagmatic eruptions, like this one, result from magma-water interactions, producing finer, poorly sorted deposits and distinctive accretionary lapilli, differing from purely magmatic eruptions.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) continues to monitor Taal closely, with recent updates on seismic and volcanic activities across the Philippines.

Since 2025, the area near Taal volcano has had 29 quakes of magnitudes up to 4.8 — including 3 quakes above magnitude 4; 1 quake between magnitude 3 and 4.