• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Sixty families in La Carlota City and Bago City in Negros Occidental fled their homes and sought temporary shelter in evacuation centers due to heavy ashfall caused by Kanlaon Volcano eruption, Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Officer Irene Bel Ploteña said on Friday, Feb. 20.
The affected individuals, totaling 195, are from Barangay Ara-al and Barangay Ilijan, respectively.
Sulfuric smell and ashfall were also experienced by residents in 50 barangays of Pontevedra, La Castellana, Moises Padilla, Hinigaran Valladolid, San Enrique, Binalbagan as well as in Bago and La Carlota, following the moderately explosive eruption Thursday afternoon.
The Office of Civil Defense-Negros Island Region (OCD-NIR) reported that shockwaves were also experienced by residents of La Castellana, Moises Padilla, Pontevedra, San Enrique, and Hinigaran, all in Negros Occidental.
Suspension of classes at all levels, both in public and private, took effect on Friday in La Carlota, Moises Padilla and La Castellana in Negros Occidental, and in Canlaon City in Negros Oriental.
Alert Level 2 is maintained over Kanlaon Volcano and entry into the four-kilometer radius permanent danger zone must be strictly prohibited, according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology.
Records of the OCD-NIR showed 84 families in La Carlota and Bago, and 47 others in Canlaon, who are residing within the four-kilometer permanent danger zone, are staying in evacuation centers as they are no longer allowed to return to their respective homes.
Mari-Andylene Quintia, resident volcanologist of Kanlaon Volcano Observatory, said they have not monitored any significant event on Friday, although they are not discounting the possibility of another eruption. | GB
