Taal Volcano, located in Talisay, Batangas, erupted on Sunday, January 12, 2020. The Philippine Institute for Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) research specialist Maria Antonia Bornas said, “The speed of escalation of Taal’s volcanic activity caught us by surprise.” This was evidenced by the rapid change from Alert Level 2 at around 2:30pm to Alert Level 4 at around 6:00pm. Throughout the night, ash rained down on in the surrounding provinces and the National Capital Region, resulting in slippery roads and dirty windshields causing in multiple accidents on the road to and from Tagaytay City, a tourist destination overlooking the Taal Volcano.

ADRA is currently working with the Cavite Mission, South-Central Luzon Conference, and the different government agencies to be able to assess the humanitarian situation caused by Taal Volcano’s eruption in the Cavite, Batangas, and Laguna area. More than 60 evacuation centers have been identified and are assessing the unmet needs of the evacuees. This assessment will then direct our response in the coming days.

“The ADRA office is outside of the evacuation zone and so we shall continue to operate from the country office – however we shall follow government guidance in the coming hours and days if the evacuation zone is extended. In such a circumstance we shall follow our contingency arrangements” says Tom Pignon, ADRA Philippines Country Director.

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