The country's chief seismologist on Wednesday bared a map that authorities can use in the event the Taal Volcano situation turns for the worse.

"This map is the worst case scenario map which is typical of the 1754 eruption. We have considered various eruption centers on the volcano island and based on the mapping that we conducted on the 1754 deposits, we came up with the hazard map for the base surge or the pyroclastic density current," Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology's executive director Renato Solidum said.

Solidum explained base surge involves the horizontal movement at very high speed clouds of ash, rocks and gasses that can cross water and even reach the mainland.

This scenario, he explained, has happened in Taal volcano’s 1754 eruption.

- ANC Headstart 15 January 2020