• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson told Negrenses to be prepared for the so-called culminating activity of Mt. Kanlaon after the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) reported that magma in Kanlaon Volcano has risen to less than five kilometers from the crater.
Lacson said that one of the culminating activities could be the lava flow as he called on Negrenses to keep on praying that the volcanic activity returns to normal.
If there is a major one, that could help ease the pressure on the volcano, the governor said.
It could be also a major eruption, which is more dangerous, he added.
While he is always asking for a Divine intervention, Lacson said “that if it is not possible, then we will just have to be ready for that culminating activity of Kanlaon.”
The Office of Civil Defense is preparing for the potential evacuation of up to 100,000 residents when the alert level is raised from 3 to 4, administrator Ariel Nepomuceno earlier said.
Phivolcs director Teresito Bacolcol said they are closely monitoring the rise of magma, noting that the eastern side of the volcano is swollen – an indication that magma is accumulating near the crater.
Alert Level 3, or magmatic unrest, still prevails over the volcano.
In an advisory issued on Tuesday (Feb. 11), Phivolcs reported nine volcanic quakes and emission of 4,150 tons of sulfur dioxide on Feb. 10, which drifted west and southwest of Negros Island. | GB
