Alert Level 1 up over Kanlaon as volcano enters period of unrest
MANILA, Philippines — State volcanologists on Thursday raised the status of Kanlaon Volcano on Negros Island to Alert Level 1, which signifies “abnormal” condition.
In an advisory, Phivolcs said Kanlaon has “entered a period of unrest.”
This comes after 80 volcanic earthquakes were recorded since Monday and 77 low frequency events associated with magmatic fluids beneath the volcano’s edifice.
“The increased seismic activity could be succeeded by steam-driven or phreatic eruptions at the summit crater despite the absence of visible degassing or steaming from the active vent this year,” Phivolcs said.
Inflation of the volcano’s edifice as well as its lower and upper slopes has been observed since 2017.
“These parameters indicate that volcanic processes are underway deep beneath the edifice that may be caused by deep-seated degassing or hydrothermal activity or magmatic intrusion,” Phivolcs said.
The public are warned against entry into Kanlaon’s permanent danger zone due to possibilities of sudden and hazardous steam-driven eruptions.
Kanlaon, which straddles the provinces of Negros Occidental and Negros Oriental, is one of the country’s active volcanoes.
On January 12, Taal woke up from its deep slumber, unleashing kilometers-high ash column and lava fountain the next day. Its restive activity led to the destruction of properties in Calabarzon and the evacuation of thousands living on the volcano island and high risk areas.
The status of Taal was downgraded to Alert Level 2—which signifies the volcano’s “decreased unrest”—a month after its eruption.
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