Ashfall from Kanlaon blankets Negros, Cebu

LANDSCAPE OF GRAY Roads and rooftops of houses and buildings at Barangay Mabigo in Canlaon City, Negros Oriental, are covered in volcanic ash after a moderate eruption of Kanlaon Volcano on Thursday. —Salta Canlaon Facebook page photo

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Ashfall generated by a three-minute moderate eruption of Kanlaon Volcano on Negros Island halted flight operations at Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA), some 90 kilometers away.

In a public advisory, the MCIA management said that as of 3:50 p.m. on Thursday, some 23 flights had been canceled.

Of the 23 flights, 19 were to depart MCIA for Bacolod, Cagayan de Oro, Coron, Bicol, Siargao, Ozamiz, and Clark, while four were arrivals from Caticlan, Manila, and Davao.

At 11:50 a.m. on Thursday, MCIA management had said that ashfall was detected in the airport vicinity, including the runway, but flight operations were not affected while clearing operations were done.

READ: Kanlaon Volcano sees ‘moderately explosive eruption’ – Phivolcs

But eastward winds brought more volcanic ash over Cebu province, prompting the flight cancellations.

Mariton Antonia Bornas, chief of the volcano monitoring and eruption prediction division of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs), said the prevailing winds were blowing eastward at the time of the eruption, allowing volcanic ash to reach Cebu province.

Kanlaon displayed a moderately explosive eruption at 7:33 a.m. on Thursday following days of high sulfur dioxide emissions.

READ: EMB-7 advises precaution amid Kanlaon ashfall reaching Cebu

Mari Andylene Quintia, resident volcanologist at the Phivolcs Kanlaon Observatory, said the blast signaled that shallow magma was driving the activity.

A loud, booming sound accompanying the eruption was heard in Canlaon City in Negros Oriental and La Castellana town in Negros Occidental, she said.

The eruption generated a dark gray plume that rose 2 to 3 kilometers above the crater before drifting toward the east, and strong winds carrying the ashfall across the sea to Cebu, Quintia said.

Drone footage showed the uptown area of Barangay Mabigo in Canlaon City, Negros Oriental, heavily blanketed in volcanic ash that covered homes, roads, and vegetation, turning much of the landscape gray, the city government reported.

Ashfall was also confirmed in Barangay Buluangan, San Carlos City, Negros Occidental, while authorities continued to verify reports of ashfall in Vallehermoso, Negros Oriental. /cb