Kanlaon showing signs of increased unrest anew

MANILA, Philippines —  State volcanologists have detected signs of increasing unrest at Kanlaon Volcano on Negros  Island after they recorded 15 volcanic earthquakes and voluminous sulfur dioxide emissions in the past few days.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said that as of last Tuesday, the volcano had been emitting  1,712 tons per day of sulfur dioxide and plumes that rose 50 meters and drifted southwest.

Phivolcs said ground deformation data indicated inflation at Kanlaon’s edifice, which suggests that magma intrusion is occurring beneath the surface.

The volcano remains under Alert Level 3.

Entry into Kanlaon’s six-kilometer-radius permanent danger zone is still prohibited, Phivolcs said.

P50 million fund tapped for Kanlaon victims

Meanwhile, the provincial government of Negros Occidental is tapping the P50-million fund provided by Malacañang to assist victims of Kanlaon.

A portion of the fund will also be used to improve permanent evacuation sites in La Castellana and Bago City.

This developed after local government units (LGUs) affected by the eruption of Kanlaon appealed for augmentation funds from the national government.

Affected LGUs said they needed to provide food for their residents who are staying in evacuation centers.

They said the provincial government has stopped providing hot meals to evacuees.

Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson on Tuesday said the provincial government would start this week the third wave of its feeding program for Kanlaon evacuees.

Lacson said the budget for the feeding, which will be facilitated through the community kitchen, would be sourced from the P50 million provided by Malacañang.

“This time, we will include rice in the feeding,” Lacson said, adding that in two previous feeding programs of the provincial government, the LGUs provided the rice served to evacuees.

Lacson said that of the P50 million, P14 million and P1.3 million would be used to improve permanent evacuation sites in La Castellana and Bago City, respectively.

Donato Sermeno III, chief of the Office of Civil Defense-Negros Island Region, said the local governments of La Castellana, La Carlota and Canlaon City requested financial aid from the national government.