BACOLOD CITY (Updated) -- Mount Kanlaon, an active volcano, has entered a state of unrest following an eruption at 6:20 p.m. Tuesday, March 29, according to the country’s volcanology agency.
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said the ash eruption from the crater lasted around 12 minutes and was accompanied by a “booming sound” that was heard in Barangays Ara-al and Yubo in La Carlota City, Negros Occidental, and in Barangay Pula, Canlaon City, in Negros Oriental.
The agency said the eruption produced a 1.5-kilometer-high ash column and that traces of light ashfall were reported in Sitio Guintubdan, Barangay Ara-al in La Carlota City.
Since a similar eruption in November 2015, Phivolcs has placed Mount Kanlaon on Alert Level 1, which means it is experiencing abnormal conditions and is in a period of unrest.
The agency reiterated its call to the public not to enter the four-kilometer radius Permanent Danger Zone around the volcano and reminded pilots to avoid flying close to the volcano’s summit due to the possibility of sudden and hazardous steam-driven or phreatic eruptions, adding that civil aviation authorities should also advise pilots to avoid flying close to the volcano’s summit.
The agency is closely monitoring the activity of the volcano.
No lava flow
Benjamin Tanatan, Science Research Analyst of Phivolcs in Canlaon City, said no lava flow came out of the summit crater, rather “it was lightning flashes, which was the result of the friction of emitted rocks and pre-existing volcanic materials” at the crater.
There were sparks because of the pressure, he added.
He also clarified that the bush fire on the slope of the volcano on Thursday, March 24, in Barangay Biak na Bato in La Castellana, Negros Occidental, was not caused by the volcano’s ejections.
“It was man-made. It’s possible that there were illegal mountaineers who set the grass on fire,” Tanatan said. “It was mistaken as lava flow but it was not connected (with the eruption). It was just a coincidence.”
A separate fire occurred on Friday, March 25, on the Canlaon City side of the volcano. It was also suspected to be man-made.
Tuesday’s eruption caused a brief commotion among nearby residents, who remained calm afterwards, Tanatan said.
No evacuation
Superintendent Frankie Lugo, chief of the Canlaon City Police Station, said residents living near the danger zone were not evacuated, but task groups under the Mount Kanlaon Contingency Plan were activated for security, evacuation, and medical response.
He said Army troopers also augmented security forces of the city.
“The police and the army are support units, in case there is a need for (additional) manpower, and if there are looters during the evacuation,” he said.
Lugo said things quickly went back to normal among Canlaon residents because they were used to abnormal activity from Mount Kanlaon.
“Still, we have to be prepared,” he added.
Should there be changes in the alert level status of the volcano, the local government would activate its Incident Command System for command, control, and coordination of emergency response, Lugo said.
Senior Superintendent Harris Fama, acting director of the Negros Oriental Police Provincial Office, said the provincial police has established the Kanlaon Volcano Monitoring Desk to update the community on the status of the volcano’s activity.
Fama, who went to Canlaon City after the eruption, said “the activation of the provincial police monitoring center would be co-located at the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council operation center.”
The Office of Civil Defense in Negros Island Region has prepared a comprehensive contingency plan for Mount Kanlaon after it was placed on Alert Level 1 last November.
Data showed that at least 11,000 residents from five barangays of Canlaon City may be affected if the volcano’s abnormalities worsen.
If the volcano’s status is raised to Alert Level 3, about 20,000 individuals from five barangays of La Castellana would be affected.
At Alert Level 4, 2,500 households from five barangays in La Carlota City, more than 500 households from two barangays in Bago City, and one barangay in Murcia town will be affected, with two more barangays from San Carlos City if the alert is raised to level 5. (Sun.Star Bacolod)