• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) logged two more ash eruptions on Monday, April 14, at the Kanlaon Volcano after it recorded 78 volcanic quakes since April 9.
The first ash emission, which started at 11:52 a.m. and ended at 2:12 p.m., generated voluminous ash plumes as high as 800 meters from the summit crater.
This was followed by another event at 2:53 p.m., generating voluminous ash plumes as tall as 600 meters.
Ash was reported by Phivolcs to have drifted towards west-northwest of the volcano.
It also warned residents of La Carlota City, Bago City, and other nearby towns to expect ashfall.
Alert Level 3 prevails over Kanlaon Volcano.
Meanwhile, the Regional Task Force Kanlaon prohibits any form of pilgrimage and trekking, especially entry into the six-kilometer extended danger zone during the observance of the Holy Week.
It also ordered all local disaster risk reduction and management officers of concerned local government units surrounding Mt. Kanlaon to activate their incident management teams and to immediately place all responders on high alert status to ensure preparedness and rapid response capability.
Meanwhile, the police advised the public to refrain from taking a bath at irrigation areas in Hacienda Salvacion, Barangay Ayungon, La Carlota City because the water is believed to have been contaminated by ashfall. | GB
