• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
The Regional Task Force (RTF) Kanlaon has again suspended all human activity within the six-kilometer extended danger zone of the volcano amid the threat of another eruption.
In an advisory on Monday (June 23), RTF Kanlaon said entry to the area from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. to carry out farming and other essential activities will be suspended on June 24 until further notice.
This was after the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) reported to have recorded 67 volcanic quakes as of Sunday midnight, along with sulfur dioxide (SO2) emission of 75 tonnes per day (as of June 22) and continuous degassing that produced a 950-meter high plume drifting north-northeast.
Donato Sermeno III, regional director of the Office of Civil Defense-Negros Island Region, raised the possibility that it will be a precursor to another eruption, citing experiences in two previous eruptions, where Phivolcs recorded an increase in the number of volcanic quakes and low emission of SO2.
The plugging of the volcanic conduit and weakening of SO2 emission and degassing leads to the pressure build-up, which may trigger explosions, Phivolcs said.
Sermeno said the occurrence of 67 quakes at Kanlaon Volcano was the highest as far as he can recall, which he also described as “alarming”.
Alert Level 3 still prevails over Kanlaon Volcano. | GB
