Mount Kanlaon on Negros Island continued to show high volcanic activity, with two ash emissions and 31 volcanic earthquakes reported in the 24 hours leading up to midnight on December 11, according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS).
The ash plumes from the eruptions, which lasted between 11 and 39 minutes, reached heights of up to 100 meters. PHIVOLCS also reported ongoing “degassing” from the volcano’s summit crater, while noting that the volcano’s edifice remains “inflated”.
Alert Level 3 remains in effect, indicating that a magmatic eruption has begun and may lead to further explosive eruptions.
PHIVOLCS has advised evacuations within a six-kilometer radius of the summit and warned of potential hazards, including lava flows, ashfall, rockfalls, pyroclastic flows, and lahars, particularly during heavy rains.
As of Tuesday, the Office of Civil Defense reported that 9,403 people, or 2,880 families, had been evacuated from five cities and towns in Negros Occidental.