• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
The Regional Task Force Kanlaon has once more suspended the entry of internally displaced persons (IDPs) into the 6-kilometer extended danger zone during the 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. window, which allowed them to carry out farming and other essential activities, due increased activity of Kanlaon Volcano.
This was after the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology reported 31 volcanic quakes, a sulfur dioxide flux of 1,020 tons on May 26, and a plume that reached up to 700 meters, as of Tuesday midnight.
Based on previous experience, those parameters may be precursors to sudden eruptions, Donato Sermeno III, OCD regional director for Negros Island Region, disclosed on Tuesday.
The suspension takes effect starting today, until further notice, according to Sermeno.
The Office of Civil Defense has urged the Philippine National Police (PNP) to strictly implement border control measures into the Kanlaon Volcano extended danger zone.
PHIVOLCS director Teresito Bacolcol said the decision to allow farmers to carry out farming and other essential activities during the prescribed window hours lies with the OCD and the concerned local government units.
As far as PHIVOLCS is concerned, there should be no people within the extended danger zone, Bacolcol said.
On May 23, stocked lahar overflowed into the highway of Sitio Tamburong in Barangay Biak Na Bato in La Castellana, making it inaccessible to commuters for several hours.
Bacolcol said there is a possibility of more lahar flow into creeks and other waterways, should there be torrential rains, due to accumulated debris at the slope of Kanlaon Volcano, following several eruptions, since June of last year.
The La Castellana Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council reported that a house was destroyed while seven others were damaged due to the recent lahar flow, which also included boulders and logs.
Prior to the latest lahar flow, residents in the area had already been evacuated to the town poblacion.
Based on the reports of the Department of Social Welfare and Development, there are 1,684 families, composed of 5,433 individuals, staying in 13 evacuation centers, while 2,705 other families, comprising 8,714 individuals, are living either with relatives or friends.*
