• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) reported an ongoing increased ground deformation changes on the middle and lower southeastern slopes of Mt. Kanlaon in Negros Island.
Phivolcs resident volcanologist Ptolemy Mañego said on Monday,, July 15, that they recorded six tectonic quakes.
The swelling on the middle and lower southeastern slopes of the volcano was discovered on June 18, and has been sustained since then, Mañego said in a radio interview.
In its advisory, Phivolcs said that considering that volcanic earthquake activity and elevated volcanic sulfur dioxide emission persists, the latest changes in ground deformation parameters could further indicate that magmatic intrusion beneath the edifice may be taking place, warning of increased chances of eruptive activity taking place.
Of the almost 9,000 families affected by the phreatic eruption on June 3, almost all of them have returned to their respective residences, according to the Department of Social Welfare and Development.
Only 10 families, composed of 34 individuals, remain at two evacuation centers, while another family, composed of five persons, are staying with their relatives in La Castellana, Negros Occidental.
The 11 families, who are residing within the four-kilometer permanent danger zone (PDZ), were not yet allowed by the La Castellana municipal government to return home.
Mañego said that those residing within the PDZ have been strongly advised not to return to their respective homes as Alert Level 2 remains in effect.
This means that there is current unrest driven by shallow magmatic processes that could eventually lead to explosive eruptions or even precede hazardous magmatic eruption at the summit crate, according to Phivolcs.
It also advised communities living beside river systems on the southern and western slopes, especially those that have already experienced lahars and muddy streamflows, to take precautionary measures when heavy rainfall over the volcano has been forecast or has begun.
Phivolcs reported that Mt. Kanlaon emitted 2,556 tonnes of sulfur dioxide on July 13.
The normal sulfur dioxide emission is 300 tonnes. | GB
