Kanlaon Volcano update: 2 ashing events, 15 volcanic quakes on Monday
Kanlaon Volcano (PHOTO COURTESY OF TASK FORCE KANLAON)
MANILA, Philippines — Two ashing events were observed again at the crater of Kanlaon Volcano on Monday, according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs).
Phivolcs on Tuesday said that the ashing events lasted for 39 to 66 minutes. The agency told INQUIRER.net that they occurred at 5:35 p.m. to 6:14 p.m. and 9:36 p.m. to 10:42 p.m., respectively.
It also emitted plumes reaching 75 meters high that drifted west.
Phivolcs, however, said that no vog was monitored.
State volcanologists also recorded 15 volcanic earthquakes and four volcanic tremors that lasted for 10 to 68 minutes.
Phivolcs previously described the ashing event as “gray ash being entrained or brought out by continuous degassing from the Kanlaon Volcano.”
Meanwhile, volcanic earthquakes are those “generated by magmatic processes or magma-related processes beneath or near an active volcano.”
The volcano also emitted 3,341 tons of sulfur dioxide on Monday, less than the 5,460 tons released the day before.
Two ashing events, 22 volcanic earthquakes, and seven volcanic tremors were also recorded at the volcano on Sunday.
On Saturday, the agency warned of another possible eruption after the detection of more ground swelling.
It added that the Upper Pantao Observation Station, sitting at 1,056 meters above sea level, recorded an “abrupt and sharp” increase in the tilt of the eastern side of the volcano since Friday evening.
The volcano, located between Negros Oriental and Negros Occidental, remains under Alert Level 3, indicating a magmatic unrest.
It erupted last December 9, 2024, producing a voluminous plume that rapidly rose to 3,000 meters above the vent and drifted west-southwest.
It prompted the evacuation of thousands of residents from Negros Oriental and Negros Occidental.
Phivolcs reiterated that flights in the vicinity of the volcano is still prohibited and warned of possible hazards such as sudden explosive eruption, lava flow, ash fall, rockfall, lahar during heavy rains, and pyroclastic flow.
