Mt. Kanlaon records 2 ashing events, 31 volcanic earthquakes

Mount Kanlaon on the island of Negros in the Visayas continued to display "high activity" recording two ash emission events and 31 volcanic earthquakes in the last 24 hours as of midnight of December 11, according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS).

PHIVOLCS said the ash emissions lasting 11 to 39 minutes long produced ash plumes that rose to 100 meters tall.

State seismologists also reported "continuous degassing” from the Kanlaon Volcano summit crater.  It added the volcano edifice remains "inflated."

Alert Level 3 is still raised over the volcano which PHILVOCS said "magmatic eruption has begun that may progress to further explosive eruptions.”

With the alert level, evacuation from the six-kilometer radius from the volcano's summit was recommended.

PHILVOLCS also warned of possible hazards that can occur such as sudden explosive eruption, lava flow or effusion, ashfall, rockfall, pyroclastic density current, or lahar during heavy rains.

A total of 11,564 people or 3,428 families are now in evacuation centers, according to the Negros Occidental Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO).

“Kahapon po, around 2 p.m. na report po, naka-record po tayo ng a total of 3,428 na mga pamilya or 11,564 individuals po na nasa loob po ng mga evacuation centers ng mga [local government units],”  Negros Occidental PDRRMO information officer Bryll Larry Sañor told Unang Balita in an interview on Wednesday.

(Yesterday, based on the 2 p.m. report, we recorded a total of 3,428 families or 11,564 individuals who are inside the evacuation centers of the local government units.)

  —LDF/ VAL, GMA Integrated News