Wednesday, April 30, 2008 Mt. Kanla-on open for trekking
THE Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs), as of April 25 has lowered the alert status of Kanla-on volcano from alert level 1 to alert level 0.
This means that the volcanic activity of Kanla-on has returned to normal condition.
The volcano's status was raised to alert level 1 last February 10 due to increased seismic activities that continued until March 4 but began to decline the following day.
Steaming activity from the crater varied from wispy to no steaming throughout this period.
Since March 5, the volcano's seismic activity registered at background level with volcanic quakes numbering zero to three per day; and no unusual volcano-related activity was observed around it.
Based on this development from Phivolcs, the Office of the Protected Area Superintendent (Pasu), as the secretariat and implementing arm of the Protected Area Management Board, declared that Mt. Kanla-on Natural Park (MKNP) is open for mountaineering activities.
Mountaineering permit could be secured at Pasu. For bookings and other information, call MKNP-Office of the Pasu at (034) 433-3813.
However, the risk of entering the four-kilometer permanent danger zone (PDZ) of the Kanla-on volcano remains high because sudden phreatic explosions may occur anytime without warning.
