On March 31, 2024, UPRI director Dr. Mahar Lagmay appeared to the “Behind The Science” Podcast to speak about the 2020 Taal volcano eruption. Primarily, the effects of the base surge from the eruption were discussed. The UPRI had mostly visited the south east part. What they saw were mostly animals that were caught in the base surge and died. This compares to the deaths that occurred at Pompeii, an ancient city that had been destroyed by a volcanic eruption. Though most of the individuals were spared thanks to having already been evacuated, there were also two reports of people being caught in the surge. One of the fatalities was reportedly in a hunched over position, also reminiscent of the bodies found in Pompeii. The effects of the surge were described as causing near instantaneous death to whoever was caught in it from the sheer heat of the material.
Screenshot of the uploaded Youtube-Podcast video from Marine & Earth Science Learning Hub’s Youtube Channel
Watch the full Video-Podcast interview by clicking on this link.
Check out the publication here:
Lagmay, A. M. F., Balangue-Tarriela, M. I. R., Aurelio, M., Ybanez, R., Bonus-Ybanez, A., Sulapas, J., … & Rosell, N. (2021). Hazardous base surges of Taal’s 2020 eruption. Scientific Reports, 11(1), 1-11
Balangue-Tarriela, M.I.R., Lagmay, A.M.F., Sarmiento, D.M. et al. Analysis of the 2020 Taal Volcano tephra fall deposits from crowdsourced information and field data. Bull Volcano 84, 35 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00445-022-01534-
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