Help Taal Project

Thank you. Many thanks to those who have already donated towards the Taal Volcano disaster relief efforts. Many of you have been staying updated with our posts; in summary:

Taal Volcano began spewing ash January 12, 2020, and the volcano alert that started at level 1 that morning was raised to alert level 4 (hazardous eruption imminent) by 7:30PM. The onset was sudden. Ashfall reported at Batangas, Tagaytay, Laguna, Cavite, Bulacan, Rizal, Muntinlupa, Las Piñas, Marikina, Parañaque, Pasig, Quezon City, Mandaluyong, San Juan, Manila, Makati City, and Taguig City. This caused some police to report “zero visibility” in their vicinity due to ash in the air.

Lava fountains began on January 13. By 4PM, there had been a total of 144 volcanic earthquakes recorded. On January 14, Batangas authorities placed a lockdown on the town of Talisay until the area was declared out of danger, as many evacuated residents were attempting to return home, worried about their houses, belongings, livestock, and crops. On January 15, the municipalities of Agoncillo, San Nicolas, and Taal join Talisay in complete lockdown. Total earthquakes recorded rose to 520 since January 12. As of January 16, the volcano eruption has affected around 459,300 people, with 43,600 men, women, and children packed in 217 evacuation centers.

The UN estimates that volcano damage to agriculture alone totals at $11.3M.

Local MEANS ministry partners actively engage the community in providing shelter, comfort and safety—sharing the gospel, and gathering kids to tell stories, sing songs, and play games together. With sufficient funding, we aim to provide 500 sleeping mats for families and children—each $10 donation provides 3 mats to a family who would otherwise be sleeping on cardboard boxes in evacuee centers.

Your donations also support the ministries such as Philippine missionary Institute. CommonGrounds, Great Commission Church, Samaritana and Intervarsity Christian Fellowship (South Luzon Regional Unit), who are saving lives and spreading the gospel in this area. Finally, we also aim to provide 2,000 pairs of flip-flops to these families by partnering with local churches and NGOs. Source: “TIMELINE, Taal Volcano’s January 2020 eruption” – Rappler.com, as of 16 January 2020.

Contributor: Faith Cheng