Kanlaon in Negros erupts

MANILA, Philippines - A grayish-white plume as high as 1.5 kilometers spewed from Mt. Kanlaon in Negros Oriental following a steam-driven eruption yesterday morning, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said.

The phreatic explosion began at 9:19 a.m. and lasted for almost half an hour.

The ash from the volcano drifted in the west-northwest direction, sending ash falls to barangays San Miguel, Gintubdan and Araal in La Carlota, and in some barangays of Murcia town, both in Negros Occidental.

“It has been raining in recent days so there was likely water that built up inside the volcano, and since the crater is hot, it built up the stream pressure, causing the eruption of ash,” said John Veracruz, a member of Philvoc’s monitoring division.

State seismologists retained the alert level of the volcano at abnormal status (Alert 1), which means “it is currently in a state of unrest probably driven by hydrothermal processes that could generate more minor eruptions.”

So far, authorities have not detected any lava rising inside the 2.47-kilometer high volcano but they were checking how far the ash was being scattered by the wind and whether it could affect other communities.

“The local government units and the public are also reminded that entry into the four-kilometer radius permanent danger zone is strictly prohibited due to the further possibilities of sudden and hazardous steam-driven or minor ash eruptions,” Phivolcs said.

“Civil aviation authorities must also advise pilots to avoid flying close to the volcano’s summit as airborne ash from a sudden eruption can be hazardous to aircraft,” it added. – With Jaime Laude, Danny Dangcalan