BACOLOD City – The alert status of Mt. Kanlaon in Negros Island, one of the active volcanoes in the country, remains normal despite reported volcanic quakes, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said.
The information was relayed by Zeaphard Caelian, head of the Negros Occidental Provincial Disaster Management Program Division, based on a message he received from Andelene Quintia of Phivolcs-Kanlaon Observation Station in La Carlota City on Wednesday.
“It’s still on Alert Level 0. Although volcanic earthquakes are still being recorded, there are no significant changes in other monitoring parameters,” Quintia said.
Misleading reports about the activity of Mt. Kanlaon have been circulating on social media after the eruption of Taal Volcano in Batangas.
The Phivolcs-Department of Science and Technology (DOST) released the last Kanlaon Volcano Bulletin on Oct. 25, 2019 when it issued a notice for the lowering of the volcano’s alert status from Alert Level 1 (abnormal) to Alert Level 0 (normal).
Based on the said bulletin, Kanlaon exhibited a general decline of monitoring parameters to normal/baseline values since June 2019, indicating a return to normalcy.
“This means that observational parameters have returned to baseline levels and no magmatic eruption is foreseen in the immediate future. However, in the event of a renewed increase in any one or combination of the monitoring parameters, the alert status may step up once again to Alert Level 1,” it added.
The monitoring parameters include volcanic earthquake activity, ground deformation, gas emission, and visual observation of the summit.
Phivolcs-DOST reminded the public to avoid entry into the four-kilometer radius permanent danger zone due to perennial hazards of rockfalls, avalanches, sudden outgassing, and steam-driven or phreatic eruption at the summit area.
It said it is “closely monitoring Kanlaon’s condition and any new development will be immediately communicated to all concerned.”(With a report from PNA/PN)
