Volcanology agency raises alert level for Philippine volcano following "explosive eruption"

Philippine volcano (Manila): Filipino volcanologists reported that the Kanlaon Volcano in central Philippines erupted early on Monday evening, sending up a 5,000-meter plume.

According to Phivolcs, there is currently a “phreatic eruption” occurring at the volcano in Negros Island.

Here’s what we’ve gathered so far:

At 6:51 pm local time (2:51 pm in the UAE) on Monday, June 3, 2024, there was a big explosion at the top of Kanlaon Volcano.

The explosion lasted about six minutes according to records from Phivolcs. Before it happened, there was a pretty strong earthquake related to the volcano.

Experts who study volcanoes say that the explosion sent a huge, glowing cloud shooting up to about 5,000 meters above the volcano.

The government has become more concerned and has raised the alert level around the volcano from “Alert Level 1” (meaning things are not quite normal) to “Alert Level 2” (which means there’s more unrest happening).

In areas on the western side of the volcano, people have noticed ash falling from the sky and have smelled sulfur.

For safety, pilots are being told to stay away from flying too close to the top of the volcano because if it erupts suddenly, the ash it spews can be really dangerous for airplanes.

Philippine volcano — Volcano eruption (Photo: IANS)

There’s a “danger zone” around the volcano that’s about 4 kilometers wide. People are being strongly advised to stay away from this area because there’s a risk of sudden explosions, rocks falling, and landslides.

Phivolcs reported in the last several days that numerous volcano-tectonic earthquakes with local magnitudes between 0.8 and 2.3 and depths between 0 and 6 km beneath the Western flank were identified by its seismic network.