Manila: Two volcanoes — one located in Bicol region and the other, in Visayas — are under close watch due to heightened activity in recent days, officials said on Sunday.
Quoting experts from the Philippines Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs), Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Herminio Coloma junior said Mount Kanlaon in the Negros Island Region is in a state of unrest after its eruption last Saturday while Mount Bulusan in Sorsogon Province spewed a column of ash at 1pm Sunday.
Kanlaon and Bulusan are both active volcanoes that had a recent history of eruptions. They have not record however, of undergoing eruptions at the same time or one after the other at least.
A possible simultaneous eruption could put a stress on volunteer and government disaster management authorities and this early, President Benigno Aquino III has ordered the National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (NDRRMC) to closely monitor developments and prepare for the evacuation of people living in vulnerable areas if necessary.
“Field personnel are being mobilised to ensure the safety of the people. There are permanent exclusion zones being observed within a certain perimeter near the two volcanoes,” Coloma said.
Bulusan is located in Sorsogon, while Kanlaon is in Negros Occidental.
According to Phivolcs, Mount Bulusan’s steam generated explosion created a 300 metre high ash plume on Sunday that lasted for some seven minutes.
“Alert level 1, indicating abnormal activity remains in effect over Bulusan volcano … The local government units and the public are reminded that entry to the four-kilometre radius Permanent Danger Zone (PDZ) is strictly prohibited due to the possibility of sudden and hazardous steam-driven or phreatic eruptions,” the agency cautioned.
On Saturday at exactly 9:19am, Phivolcs aid a series of steam and ash eruption episodes from the active crater of Kanlaon.
The steam and ash eruption lasted for 27 minutes.
“The ash plume that rose approximately 1500m high before further lofting 3km above the summit. This was followed immediately by eruption of a dense, dark grey to black ash plume that rose 500m high. The third event was characterised by emission of dark grey ash plume that rose 500m,” Phivolcs said.
The explosion from the eruption was hear several kilometres away with ash fall being reported landing in areas close to Mt Kanlaon.
Phivolcs added that Alert level 1 is currently being observed over both Bulusan and Kanlaon.
“Civil aviation authorities must also advise pilots to avoid flying close to the volcano’s summit as ash from any sudden phreatic eruption can be hazardous to aircraft. Furthermore, people living within valleys and along river/stream channels especially on the southwest and northwest sector of the edifice should be vigilant against sediment-laden stream flows and lahars in the event of heavy and prolonged rainfall,” Phivolcs said.
