On January 12, Taal Volcano in the Philippines, located about 60 km. ( 37 miles ) south of Manila , erupted again. Its last eruptions were in 1965 ( and lasted til 1969) , and in 1977. This time, right after the eruption, volcanic ashes ( again !) blanketed places way beyond the 14 km. radius danger zone, forcing even those from Manila to wear masks.
In 1991, the biggest volcanic eruption of the 20th century was that of Mt. Pinatubo, about 60 miles north of Manila. The eruption was so huge it penetrated the stratosphere and lowered the earth’s temperature by .50 C . Ashes blanketed the whole of Metro-Manila, with zero visibility, and made 12 noon looking like 12 midnight. Ashes that fell over Manila were at least 1 inch thick. Needless to say, areas near Mt. Pinatubo were erased off the face of the earth.
Not to mention the strongest typhoon in the history of mankind, Typhoon Haiyan, in 2014 . It was so strong it went beyond Category 5, and caused a 14 meter high tsunami-like storm surge.
Then, add the frequent earthquakes to this pile of disasters……. To Filipinos, 6.4 in the Richter scale is nothing. I’d said this before, and I say this again, people of the Philippines eat disasters and natural catastrophes for breakfast.
Pardon my language but , this was me when I heard the news of eruption. I was like, what about my vacation? ? Okay, that’s thoughtless of me…. I mean , here I am, worrying about my vacation, while over there, people are suffering.
Still…….
Seriously, Philippines , what the heck !
Well, Mom, my sister , a co-worker, and I , are going to the Philippines 17 days from now. Our original itinerary does include Taal Volcano…. unfortunately, my co-worker is now more eager and determined to see the “scene of destruction” . ( Uhm, I wanna see it too. ) . It’s been lowered to Category 3, to date….. I hope it’ll be okay and safe by the time we get there. Aaargh ! ( I bought a box of N95 mask.) Fyi, these are no ordinary ashes. They are made of microscopic shards of “glass”… from super -heated volcanic materials . They are very dangerous to our lungs when inhaled.
One of the photos below is that of yours truly, taken at the very scenic Taal Volcano in 2014. By the way, it’s the smallest volcano in the world and take note…… do you see the mountain on the left side of the picture ??? The mountain surrounds another lake which is actually the caldera of the volcano.
- sigh *
This is all for now.
By the way, my last post before this was in September , 2019.
Don’t ask.
Bye ! !
Am a Molecular Microbiology student, love to read books, and I play the violin. 
dreamsending
renxkyoko
renxkyoko's space 
Posted by Dracul Van Helsing on January 28, 2020 at 1:34 pm
Natural disasters seem to like taking their vacations in the Philippines as well by the sounds of it.
A time for them to really cut lose and shake things up a bit.
I think I shall quit before Shakespeare’s ghost says, “Thou anthromorphize natural disasters too much.”
Posted by renxkyoko on January 28, 2020 at 2:21 pm
Last month, my mom said she was a bit apprehensive about Taal Volcano’s recent activities . The distance to our house is a bit problematic, ,he he. The Philippines is a small country with 57 active volcanoes , and many more that are considered dormant ( like Mt. Pinatubo, so who knew ? )
We’re going to Boracay Island where we have a vacation house. A huge storm visited the island a month ago. It shattered the sliding glass door and blew off a part of the roof. There are workers repairing our house, so we can’t stay there. So, we just booked 2 rooms in a nearby hotel. Expensive ! !
Re these unwelcome visitors…. do you know the lands around the volcano are super fertile ? That’s the silver lining . Nature will give back something better a few years from now.
Posted by SCLMRose on January 28, 2020 at 2:03 pm
I’m from Alitagtag, Batangueno (too close to Taal Volcano) and the eruption in 1965 did not last till 1969. I don’t know where that statistic came from. I was still in the PI when Taal erupted in 1965.
Posted by renxkyoko on January 28, 2020 at 3:08 pm
Oh, I just read about it. I think the volcano continued spewing out smoke for 4 years without doing harm to surrounding areas. The one in 1911 continued on for 7 months, according to the volcano’s history. In fact, Category 1 was already issued as early as March, 2019. when more vents around the lake opened up , spewing hot steam. That’s 10 months ago. We do’t know how long Cat. 3 will stay as such on the volcano… months, years , so much so that the president declared that piece of real estate around Taal Volcano permanently a no man’s land. well, that’s what the data means, I think.
Posted by arlene on January 29, 2020 at 3:04 am
Hi Ren, welcome back. Hope you’ll have a meaningful vacation soon. Yes, we are inundated with disaster after disaster.
Posted by renxkyoko on January 29, 2020 at 4:08 am
My last was on Sept.13, 2019… that was 4 months ago. I’ve got a lot of stuff going on… even now, I can’t find the time to sit down and read . So, how are you doing ? Do you still wear a mask ? My mom will wear a mask immediately when we get there. She’s already 67 years old, and is not 100 % … also suffered asthma when she was young, so the dust might trigger return of this condition. So is everything okay in Taal ?
Posted by Becky on January 30, 2020 at 6:13 am
How are you doing Ren?
It was scary seeing the news about Taal.
I hope you still get to enjoy your vacation when you’re in the Philippines. I’m almost jealous! Warm weather balmy beaches sounds wonderful instead of cold weather. It finally warm up here to-7C! Yikes 😬
Posted by renxkyoko on January 30, 2020 at 5:21 pm
I heard the volcano ‘s spewing ash again. So, I don’t if we can actually go there to experience the whole thing.
Warm at -7 C ? Ha ha ! I’m already shivering at 15 C.
Posted by equinoxio21 on January 30, 2020 at 6:33 pm
Welcome back “Socorro”. (I did notice your “vacations”) (And I won’t ask)
Don’t worry about the volcano. You will have a great time home.
Bon voyage.
Posted by renxkyoko on January 30, 2020 at 7:48 pm
“Vacations”.. LOL
Seriously, September is the start of holiday busyness at work…. I work at a dairy company, and we produce all the dairy needs (milk, creamer, etc. ) of major groceries ( store brands ,like Costco ‘s Kirkland )and of course , our own brand. Lots of overtimes, and almost no days off ( Liked it because , overseas vacation !… I need money !)
Posted by equinoxio21 on January 31, 2020 at 12:37 am
LOL indeed. Well I’m glad your job keeps you occupied, and I imagine happy. (Happiness in a job is key. If you ain’t happy, change jobs) Your job sounds interesting.
And definitely one has to save and pay for those overseas trips… You must be very excited to go.
Enjoy it “Remedios”. 😉
Posted by renxkyoko on January 31, 2020 at 12:41 am
Socorro, Remedios…. I’m waiting for an Esperanza. He he
Posted by equinoxio21 on January 31, 2020 at 12:55 am
Mercedes, then?
Posted by renxkyoko on January 31, 2020 at 10:43 pm
I Have a cousin named Mercedita. Ha ha
Posted by equinoxio21 on February 1, 2020 at 12:26 am
LOL. Have a nice week-end, “Soco”.
Posted by equinoxio21 on January 31, 2020 at 12:55 am
Refugio? Angustias? (I’ve known one…)
Posted by budingtaba on January 30, 2020 at 10:41 pm
Wear a mask. There is one confirmed case of a tourist affected by the Corona virus. Also, the gov’t not allowing anyone to go to Taal yet. Ingat kayo and enjoy your vacation!
Posted by renxkyoko on January 31, 2020 at 12:15 am
Awww, really? we can’t go? Oh, well, we expect that.
Posted by budingtaba on January 31, 2020 at 12:17 am
Yes. It’s still prohibited now. Even the residents are still not allowed to go back to their homes.
Posted by renxkyoko on January 31, 2020 at 12:34 am
2 days ago, I heard the gov’t has now opened Tagaytay City. It’s not true?
Posted by budingtaba on January 31, 2020 at 1:35 am
You can go to Tagaytay. Not Taal though.. Just wear a mask to be safe. 😊
Posted by barkinginthedark on January 30, 2020 at 10:59 pm
i actually do not “like” – the world’s environment is being destroyed before our eyes. stay well. continue…
Posted by renxkyoko on January 31, 2020 at 12:14 am
I’m more worried about man-made pollution. Do you know that the soil near the volcano and surrounding areas is super -rich and fertile ? Yes, most of them have been destroyed by the eruption ( Banana , coffee, pineapple, veggies, commercial flower plantations ) but it’s temporary. The soil will rejuvenate in a few years. That’s what happened to Mt.Pinatubo, also in the Philippines. After about 20years ( it erupted in 1991, it’s now a lush, forested area, and it made the soil very fertile.
Posted by Another volcanic eruption in the Philippines? Seriously ? — renxkyoko’s space – Truth Troubles on January 30, 2020 at 11:05 pm
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Posted by loujen haxm'Yor on February 1, 2020 at 9:09 am
Many thanx for sharing your write up and photos on this post. Aside from any unwanted destruction, at least these events show that our earth is still alive. Peace.
Art
Posted by simplymesmc on May 16, 2020 at 7:09 pm
And I must say, No amount of disaster could shatter the Filipino Spirit! We always rise up no matter what.
Posted by luisa zambrotta on August 4, 2020 at 5:18 pm
❤️🌹❤️🌹