The Office of Civil Defense (OCD) cautioned the public against the possibility of lahar flow as the ongoing rumbling of Mt. Kanlaon in the Negros Island is coupled by rains brought by Tropical Storm Ferdie and the enhanced southwest monsoon (habagat).
OCD spokesperson Director Edgar Posadas said on Saturday, Sept. 14, that the occurrence of “muddy flow” has already been monitored in certain areas in Western Visayas (Region 6).
“Umuulan ngayon sa Western Visayas so ‘yung possibility ng lahar… Pero as of late, muddy flows pa lang ang nandoon pero di pa raw ‘yun lahar so we hope hindi mauwi doon (It’s raining in Western Visayas right now so the possibility of lahar flow [is there]. But as of late, only lahar flows were pbserved but it’s not similar with lahar flow so we hope it would not lead to that),” he said during the Saturday News Forum in Quezon City.
Ferdie already left the country’s area of responsibility at 2 a.m. Saturday but it continues to enhance the effects of the southwest monsoon.
Local government officials from Western Visayas have been working closely together with their counterparts from Central Visayas (Region 7) to ensure a coordinated response in case Mt. Kanlaon erupts.
“Two regions are working closely together, ‘yung Region 6 and 7, because they share a common boundary doon sa Bulkang Kanlaon (Two regions are working closely together, Regions 6 and 7, because they share a boundary at Mt. Kanlaon),” Posadas shared.
The local government units (LGUs) in the two regions have already ironed out their preparation if worse comes to worst, including evacuation plans.
“Sumusuporta ang OCD sa kanilang mga plano at pangangailangan nila like food and non-food items, sa evacuation (The OCD supports their plans and needs like food and non-food items, and evacuation efforts),” he noted.
In the past 24 hours, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) recorded five volcanic earthquakes at Mt. Kanlaon.
The volcano is currently under Alert Level 2 which means that there is a moderate level of volcanic unrest including volcanic earthquake, steam/gas emission, ground deformation and hot spring temperature, intermittent steam/ash explosion, above baseline Sulfur Dioxide (SO2) emission rates, and increased swelling of volcanic edifice.