BACOLOD CITY – Bracing for a worse-case scenario, the Office of Civil Defense- Negros Island Region (OCD-NIR) heightened its preparedness, following three moderately explosive eruptions of Kanlaon Volcano that came with longer ash emission activities, within a period of less than a month.
Donato Sermeno III, OCD regional director for Negros Island Region, disclosed on Tuesday that according to an initial assessment of Kanlaon Volcano by the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) appears to be in alarming state, noting that ash emissions lasted almost four hours, in recent eruptions.
The OCD-NIR recently hosted a Pre-Disaster Risk Assessment (PDRA) and discussed the effects and possible escalation of the unrest at Kanlaon, with Ma. Antonia Bornas, Chief Science Research Specialist of the Volcano Monitoring and Eruption Prediction Division, giving updates on the activities of Kanlaon Volcano.
Ninety barangays of 11 local government units in Negros Occidental were either affected by ash fall and/or sulfur fumes, following the moderately explosive eruption of Kanlaon on Sunday.
Based on the assessment of Bornas, Sermeno said Kanlaon Volcano appears to be in an alarming state, since it exploded thrice over the span of less than a month.
While no evacuation of residents was reported, an estimated 65 hectares of forest and grassland within the volcano’s 4-kilometer permanent danger zone were hit by fires, as a result of the eruption, according to reports of the Mt. Kanlaon Natural Park.
PHIVOLCS director Teresito Bacolcol, however, said recent activities of Kanlaon Volcano remains consistent with Alert Level 2 status, adding that moderately explosive eruptions are expected “every now and then.”
Asked about the possibility of increasing the status to Alert Level 3, Bacolcol said “for now, we are not considering it,” stressing that its behavior is consistent with Alert Level 2 status.
But he added that residents in communities surrounding the volcano should be alert at all times.
PHIVOLCS strictly prohibits the presence of inhabitants in the four-kilometer permanent danger zone (PDZ) of Kanlaon.
Residents beyond the 4-kilometer PDZ also have to be ready anytime, should there be an escalation of the volcano’s activities which would warrant the raising of the alert level, Bacolcol said. (Gilbert Bayoran via tvds photo by tvds)