• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology recorded nine ash emission activities of Kanlaon Volcano from March 20 to 22, raising apprehension from residents in the area that it may erupt again.
PHIVOLCS also logged 18 volcanic quakes, including 12 tremors that lasted up to 306 minutes.
While Alert Level 2 remains hoisted over Kanlaon Volcano, PHIVOLCS earlier raised the possibility that the alert status could be raised, should an explosive eruption recur in the next few days, or in effect become more frequent, following the March 15, February 19 and 26 eruptions.
In a recent advisory, PHIVOLCS said the March 15 eruption, which is the third within the span of a month, is a sustained increase in the frequency of explosive eruption at Kanlaon that could promote activity of intruding magma at a depth that could facilitate the onset of fully magmatic eruption.
Such an event could produce dangerous volcanic hazards within the lava and PDC hazard zones of the volcano, disperse large volumes of airborne ash over the Central Visayas region, and produce material that could feed major life-threatening lahars in channels draining the edifice, it warned.
While it has strongly recommended that communities within the four-kilometer permanent danger zone remain evacuated due to the chance of explosive eruptions, PHIVOLCS said those within the six-kilometer radius should prepare for subsequent evacuation in case unrest escalates and Alert Level 3 is raised.
Should Alert Level 3 be declared, La Castellana Vice Mayor Alme Rhummyla Nicor- Mangilimutan said that more than 4,000 families will be evacuated from the six-kilometer permanent danger zone.
Following the three recent moderately explosive eruptions of Kanlaon, Mangilimutan disclosed the ashfall that hit several La Castellana barangays is now affecting the health of town residents. Worse, our main problem is how to purify the water, as all our water sources, which originate from Kanlaon, are now contaminated with ashfall, she said.*
