Kanlaon task force bans entry to 6-km extended danger zone starting June 24
BACOLOD CITY – The Regional Task Force (RTF) Kanlaon has indefinitely suspended entry within the six-kilometer extended danger zone of the volcano during certain periods of the day starting Tuesday.
KANLAON Volcano
In an advisory on Monday, the Office of Civil Defense-led RTF Kanlaon said the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) has recorded 67 volcanic earthquakes with sulfur dioxide flux of 755 tons per day and a plume of 950 meters tall, voluminous, continuously degassing, drifting northeast and north-northeast from 5 a.m. on Sunday to 5 a.m. on Monday.
“Thus, entry to the six-km extended danger zone, from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m., to carry out farming and other essential activities, is hereby suspended effective June 24 until further notice,” the RTF Kanlaon said.
Kanlaon Volcano in Negros Island remains under Alert Level 3 following its explosive eruption last Dec. 9, indicating that “magmatic eruption has begun and may progress to further explosive eruptions.”
It prompted the evacuation of residents within the extended six-km extended danger zone.
La Castellana in Negros Occidental is the hardest-hit local government unit, having the largest number of internally displaced persons from at least five barangays.
In both Negros Occidental and Negros Oriental, 6,040 individuals or 1,883 families are still staying in 20 active evacuation centers, while 10,559 persons or 3,294 families are seeking shelter with relatives or friends as of June 21, data of the Department of Social Welfare and Development showed.
Phivolcs has recommended that communities within the six-km radius from the summit crater remain evacuated due to the danger of pyroclastic density currents, ballistic projectiles, ashfall, rockfall, and other related hazards. (PNA)