• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
After the moderate explosive eruption of Kanlaon Volcano early Tuesday morning, at least 123 barangays in 11 local government units of Negros Occidental have been hit with ashfall while residents of other villages also experienced sulfur smell.
The five-minute eruption generated a grayish voluminous plume that rose approximately 4.5 kilometers above the summit crater, according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs).
Incandescent pyroclastic density currents were reported to have descended to the southern slopes within about two kilometers from the crater.
Large ballistic fragments were also observed to have been thrown around the crater, within a few hundred meters and caused burning of vegetation near the volcano summit, Phivolcs added.
Alert Level 3 still prevails over Kanlaon.
The Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council of Negros Occidental advised the public to report any Kanlaon-related incidents in their local government unit and continue to take precautionary measures against the harmful effects of the recent eruption.
The PDRRMO-Emergency Operations Center has monitored either ashfall or sulfur smell in the cities of Bacolod, La Carlota, Bago, San Carlos as well as in the municipalities of La Castellana, Murcia, San Enrique, Valladolid, Pontevedra, Hinigaran, and Binalbagan.
The Office of Civil Defense also prohibits the entry to the six-kilometer extended danger zone from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. to carry out farming and other essential activities.
The Philippine Airlines cancelled on May 13 six flights from Bacolod to Manila and Cebu. | GB
