Kanlaon Volcano rumbled, lit up sky 'like fireworks'

On Monday evening, residents near Kanlaon Volcano were startled when its peak suddenly illuminated a few minutes before it erupted in a powerful display.

In a report by Ian Cruz for 24 Oras on Tuesday, amateur footage showed a red light covered with thick smoke lighting the dark sky.

In a timelapse video, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) caught Kanlaon’s continuous eruption and loud explosions.

After Mt. Kanlaon’s eruption, nearby communities such as Barangay Cabagnaan in the town of La Castellana experienced ash fall.

Roads, cars and vegetation as well as houses were covered in ash.

Ash that made contact with the skin was described as similar to cement.

According to PHIVOLCS, Kanlaon emitted plumes that rose 5 kilometers into the atmosphere.

La Castellana, La Carlota City, Bago City, Canlaon City, Murcia and Bacolod City were some of the areas affected by ash fall and sulfuric smell.

The Philippine Coast Guard earlier said its deployable response groups and rescue assets in Western Visayas are on standby to assist the local government units affected by Kanlaon Volcano’s eruption.

The Canlaon local government earlier declared the city under a state of calamity as the eruption affected the “economic living condition of the people, specifically the farmer.”

“Thus there is a need for the local government to exert necessary measures to address and cushion the impact of the volcano eruption,” the resolution read.

PHIVOLCS described the Kanlaon Volcano’s eruption as an explosive eruption.

Based on GMA Integrated News’ monitoring, Kanlaon Volcano previously erupted three times on June 3: in 2003, 2006 and 2024.

PHIVOLCS said it is also monitoring the possible effects of rainfall over the volcano.

Department of Science and Technology (DOST) Secretary Renato Solidum Jr. said a downpour on the volcano could cause muddy floods, sediment-laden flows or lahar. —Mariel Celine Serquiña/RF, GMA Integrated News