Volcanos In Philippines

Mayan Volcano in Bicol
on the island of Luzon.

Pyroclastic Flow from Mt Pinatubo 1991

Volcanoes In the Philippines

The Philippine Islands are located in "The Ring of Fire" around the Pacific Ocean. At present we are living at an altitude of about 750 feet in a subdivision on the side of the ancient Taal volcano. We are not concerned about tsunamis. We are nearly 25 kilometers from the current Taal Volcano which is on an island in the center of the caldera of the ancient volcano. It is currently emitting gas clouds thousands of feet up in the air (Feb 2024).

Taal acted up a few years ago and spewed volcanic ash  into the air for a few days. The wind carried it over a great area. Ash fell on our house for a couple of days, just a little not a lot. We swept it off the sidewalk. It was so heavy it took two men to lift a small bag onto a truck.

When Mt Pinatubo erupted in the 1990's it buried lawns of homes, in and around the Clark Freeport Zone of Pampanga, in several feet of ash. Angeles City, Olongapo, Tarlac and many other cities were affected by ash. Ash even fell on the Greater Manila Area.

I talked with a man at a jeepney stop in the Clark Freeport Zone and he recalled how the sky turned black, he had been waiting at the same spot and he thought "This is it. It's all over now." He survived. It happened that the director of the Philippines volcanology department was hesitant to issue evacuation orders affecting thousands of people but made an educated guess, based on the data he had, and finally ordered a large area to evacuate. Well, his order resulted in saving a great many lives. 

If you have an aversion to exploding volcanos, you may want to live a hundred miles or more away from one. It may be hundreds of years between eruptions, but one never knows. Warnings are announced when volcanos start becoming active. So, if you buy or build a house "you pays your money, you takes your chances." Some houses get buried by Lahars. Choose your location carefully or just "fuggitaboutit" and go happily about your life! Like Filipinos do.

Check these lower cost types of home construction in the Philippines.

Keep these things ready to go at all times.

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This post will be expanded upon. Check back for more information about volcanos in the Philippines. Updated February 11, 2024.

Disaster Preparedness Philippines

Prepare for Disasters

Disaster Preparedness

During five years living in the Greater Manila area I have walked through flooded streets, ridden in a pedicab with water up to our seat, heard tin roofs rattling and banging in our compound in Paranaque during typhoons, watched children play and swim in highways while buses and jeepneys plowed through the water near them. I've stayed in a cottage close to the beach at the Lido Beach Resort, in Cavite, during a surprise storm. In the morning the catamaran that was on the beach was missing, apparently swept away by the wind and waves.

There have been disasters occur while we lived there. Fires where many shanty homes burned down, flooding rivers where many people have died in mud slides along the river banks, ferry boats and other boats have sunk.

I never prepared past having a Katadyn pocket water filter to filter drinking water and keeping copies of important papers and my passport in a safe place.

 

There is also the possibility of volcanic eruptions and tsunamis. Be ready to grab your valuables and flee if advised to. 

I plan to be more prepared in future. I plan to follow the steps outlined at the US State Department website. 

Watch this video about developing Situational Awareness.

Update July 30, 2015: The government has warned that there is a possibility of an imminent "7.5 killer earthquake" in Metro Manila and out into surrounding provinces. See this article in the Sun Star Manila. You may want to adjust your travel plans accordingly. Maybe you will want to visit some islands other than Luzon. Cebu is a great place to visit. Check out other places in my article about adventure in the Philippines.

Keep things ready to go at all times.

UN raps Philippines for failing to rehouse typhoon homeless (as reported by Channel News Asia July 31, 2015.)

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This post will be expanded. Check back for more information about disaster preparedness in the Philippines. Last updated July 30, 2022.