• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Be ready for the culminating activity of Kanlaon Volcano.
That was stressed by Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson, as the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) reported on Monday that the magma in Kanlaon Volcano has risen to less than five kilometers from the crater.
Lacson said that one possible culminating activity of Kanlaon could be lava flow, as he called on Negrenses to keep on praying that the volcanic activity returns to normal
If there is a major one, he said it could help ease the pressure at Kanlaon, the governor said, apparently referring to the culminating activity of the volcano, based on the pronouncements of PHIVOLCS.
The culminating activity could also be a major eruption, which is more dangerous, said Lacson.
The Office of the Civil Defense is preparing for the potential evacuation of up to 100,000 residents if the alert level of Kanlaon Volcano is raised from Alert Level 3 to 4, according to OCD administrator Ariel Nepomuceno.
PHIVOLCS director Teresito Bacolcol said they are closely monitoring the rise of magma, noting that the eastern side of the volcano is swollen – an indication that magma is accumulating near the crater.
Alert Level 3, or magmatic unrest, still prevails over the volcano, according to PHIVOLCS.
“The inflation is still on the eastern side of the volcano, and not on all its sides,” Bacolcol disclosed on Monday.
While he is always asking for divine intervention, Lacson said “if it is not possible, then we will just have to be ready for that culminating activity of Kanlaon.”
In an advisory it issued Tuesday, PHIVOLCS reported nine volcanic quakes on February 10, and the emission of 4,150 tons of sulfur dioxide, which drifted west and southwest of Negros Island.*
