Thousands evacuated as Mt. Kanlaon erupts anew

BACOLOD CITY, Negros Occidental — Evacuation of thousands of residents near Mt. Kanlaon, which straddles the provinces of Negros Occidental and Negros Oriental, has started after the volcano erupted again on Monday, causing heavy ashfall and emitting strong sulfuric fumes.

As the threat of eruption from Mt. Kanlaon intensifies, an urgent evacuation operation was ordered by Defense Secretary and National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council Chair Gilberto Teodoro Jr., affecting approximately 87,000 residents.

Teodoro on Monday activated the National Inter-agency Coordinating Cell to coordinate response efforts to ensure the safety of everyone. The gravity of the situation is particularly acute in La Castellana town of Negros Occidental, where an estimated 46,900 individuals are within the danger zone.

READ: Kanlaon Volcano erupts; alert level 3 up

Officials of La Castellana town, and the cities of Bago and La Carlota in Negros Occidental; and Canlaon City in Negros Oriental, have earlier ordered residents living within the 6-kilometer radius from the summit of the volcano to seek temporary shelter in evacuation centers.

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Classes were also canceled in the affected areas where roads, rooftops and vegetation were covered with ash following the eruption that occurred at 3:03 p.m.

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The volcano also erupted on June 3 this year, spewing coarse ashfall and sulfur fumes that damaged P84.1 million in crops and fisheries.

Shockwave

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs), in an advisory, said Monday’s “explosive eruption” occurred at the summit vent of Mt. Kanlaon from 3:03 p.m. to 3:07 p.m. and generated a plume height of 4,000 km.

This prompted Phivolcs to raise the volcano’s alert level from 2 (increasing unrest) to 3 (magmatic unrest).

“This means magmatic eruption has begun that may progress to further explosive eruptions,” said Mari-Andylene Quintia, Phivolcs resident volcanologist at the Kanlaon Volcano Observatory in La Carlota City.

Pyroclastic density currents were noted to have descended the slopes on the general southeastern edifice based on thermal camera monitors.

“A loud explosion called shockwave was also heard during the explosion,” Quintia said.

La Castellana Mayor Rhummyla Mangilimutan said residents of Barangays Biak na Bato, Sag-ang and Mansalanao were being evacuated.

Stay indoors, wear masks

Bago City reported heavy ashfall along its city center and in Barangay Mailum, said Mayor Nicholas Yulo.

Dr. Merijene Orizo, Bago City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Officer, said residents from Barangays Ilijan and Mailum who experienced heavy ashfall, a rain of small stones, and strong sulfur smell, were being evacuated.

In La Carlota, Mayor Rex Jalandoon said evacuation was underway in four sitios in Barangay Yubo and in Barangays Ara-al and Haguimit.

The entire La Carlota, he said, has been hit by ashfall and sulfur odor.

The three localities, along with Isabela town in Negros Occidental and Canlaon City in Negros Oriental, cancelled classes following the eruption.

Canlaon City Mayor Jose Chubasco Cardenas cancelled classes and work at government offices in the city and ordered the evacuation of residents in Barangays Masulog and Mansalanao.

“We were prioritizing evacuation from the areas that experience ashfall,” he said.

Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said residents should “follow evacuation orders, wear a mask, goggles, and protective clothing” and “should also stay indoors and avoid hazard zones.”

Mt. Kanlaon, which covers 24,557.60 hectares of land area, straddles the cities of Bago, La Carlota and San Carlos and the towns of Murcia and La Castellana in Negros Occidental, and Canlaon City in Negros Oriental.

On Monday, the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (Caap) issued a notice to airmen restricting flights near Mt. Kanlaon from the surface to 21,000 feet, effective from 4:50 p.m. of Dec. 9 to 3:03 p.m. of Dec. 10.

“Flight operators are advised to avoid flying close to the volcano due to possible hazards of sudden steam-driven or phreatic eruptions and precursory magmatic activity,” Caap said.

Flight operations at Bacolod-Silay International Airport in Silay, Negros Occidental, the nearest airport to Mt. Kanlaon, “remain normal at this time,” CAAP noted. —with a report from Dexter C. Cabalza