USAID is helping Philippine government to monitor Taal eruption
MANILA, Philippines — The US Embassy in the Philippines on Wednesday said the United States Agency for International Development or the Geological Survey is providing help to its long-time ally, Philippines, after the Taal eruption in Batangas.
In a tweet, the US Embassy shared that the USAID and the Volcano Disaster Assistance Program is providing equipment and remote technical support to the Philippine government.
.@USAID / @USGS’s Volcano Disaster Assistance Program is providing equipment and remote technical support to the Government of the Philippines. #TaalEruption2020 #TaalVolcano https://t.co/XlLfLXrNDX
— U.S. Embassy in the Philippines (@USEmbassyPH) January 15, 2020
According to the USAID, it is providing an infrared camera and other technical support to help monitor the volcano’s activity.
VDAP, established by the USAID’s Office of US Foreign Disaster Assistance and the USGS in 1986, has been providing technical assistance worldwide.
It also helped the Philippines monitor Mt. Pinatubo in 1991, which had not erupted in 500 years then.
VDAP previously worked with the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology to install volcano monitoring equipment and analyze data to forecast eruptions.
Its collaboration with the Philippines helped evacuate around 75,000 people before Mt. Pinatubo exploded on June 15, 1951.
Taal erupted on Sunday after 43 years of being asleep. It is the second most frequently erupting volcano of the 24 active volcanoes in the country, according to a February 2018 study.
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