PHIVOLCS Notes “Quiet Period” May Last Hours or Decades, Declines to Specify

Taal Volcano Takes Day Off; Tourism Suddenly Surges

PHIVOLCS Notes “Quiet Period” May Last Hours or Decades, Declines to Specify

Taal Volcano, one of the world’s most active and most photographed volcanoes, entered a brief period of relative calm last week, triggering an immediate 340% surge in Tagaytay bookings, Taal Lake boat tours, and viewdeck restaurants that had lowered their windows during the last eruption cycle. PHIVOLCS director Dr. Marivic Soriano-Agcaoili stressed at a press briefing that the quiet period should not be interpreted as permanent, calling Taal a “restless caldera system” with “centuries of personality.” She declined to estimate how long the calm would last, noting that Taal’s previous quiet periods have ranged from six days to eighty years — not the reassurance journalists hoped for, but, she said, honest. Tagaytay businesses responded with the institutional optimism of an economy shaped by proximity to geological hazard. Hotel occupancy jumped to 91% in 48 hours. A new “crater boat” tour began offering sunrise lake crossings, with life vests described as optional by the operator and mandatory by PHIVOLCS. Day-trippers filled the Aguinaldo Highway with the cheerful urgency of people who understand, at some level, that they are visiting on borrowed time and have decided the bulalo is worth it. Taal continued to exist, which PHIVOLCS described as “the desired outcome, for now.”

SOURCE: Bohiney News.