• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Ash fall from Kanlaon Volcano gas emissions hit nine barangays of Bago City, Negros Occidental, on February 15, resulting in water rationing being implemented as spring water is no longer safe for drinking in some villages.
Local Disaster Risk Reduction Management Officer Merijene Ortizo reported that ash fall was reported in the barangays of Ilijan, Maao, Dulao, Binubuhan, Abuanan, Atipuluan, Tabunan, Bacong, and Mailum, all in Bago City.
Ortizo disclosed that the Mailum barangay was badly affected by the ashfall, as the spring water in the village was already contaminated.
Barangay Mailum is a tourist destination of Bago City known for its cool climate.
Water tankers were immediately deployed by the Negros Occidental provincial government and Bago City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office to provide drinking water to the affected population.
The affected residents, who complained of a strong sulfur smell, were provided with face masks by the concerned LGUs.
On Saturday, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology reported two ash eruptions at 2:32 p.m. and 5:55 pm, which lasted four to eight minutes, based on seismic and infrasound records.
The first ash eruption, which generated a grayish plume that rose as high as 1,500 meters above the crater, and 700 meters from the second eruption, before drifting to a western direction.
Those are after a minor explosive eruption on February 6.
Prior to the two events, PHIVOLCS measured a sulfur dioxide (SO2) flux of 2,625 tonnes per day, which is below the medium-term average of 4,440 tonnes per day recorded since June 3, 2024. It also reported that degassing from the summit crater has been weak since February 6.
The eastern upper slopes of the volcano have been undergoing inflation since January 10, while inflation-deflation cycles have been observed on the western upper and eastern middle slopes. This behavior likely results from occasional plugging and unplugging of the volcanic conduit, affecting degassing and eruptive activity, according to PHIVOLCS.
Alert Level 3 has been maintained for Kanlaon Volcano, indicating that magmatic unrest could generate similar ash emissions and even short-lived explosive eruptions in the short term, which may pose life-threatening hazards.*
