PERSONNEL of the Cebu City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office distributes face masks to commuters due to ashfall from the Mount Kanlaon eruption Thursday. (Cebu City PIO)
CEBU CITY – Classes were suspended after ashfall from the eruption of Mount Kanlaon on Negros Island reached parts of Cebu on Thursday, July 9.
At least 20 local government units in Cebu suspended classes due to poor air quality caused by the ashfall.
As of noon on Thursday, classes were suspended in the cities of Cebu, Talisay (public schools), Naga, Carcar, Mandaue, and Lapu-Lapu, and in the municipalities of Pinamungajan, Aloguinsan, Cordova, Consolacion, Minglanilla, Balamban, Liloan, Asturias, Tuburan, Barili, Tabuelan, Santa Fe, and San Fernando.
The Environmental Management Bureau-Central Visayas (EMB-7) said air quality in Metro Cebu is continuously monitored following Kanlaon’s eruption.
The agency said air quality dropped to poor levels.
Wind direction could have caused the ashfall to reach Cebu.
The EMB-7 has coordinated with its counterpart in NIR and also installed filters for air quality monitoring of manual stations.
“We are monitoring our real-time stations for particulate matter stations in Talisay and Toledo,” Engr. Cindylyn Pepito, information officer of EMB-7, said.
EMB-7 advised the public to take precautionary measures by wearing N95 face masks when going outdoors. The agency explained that volcanic ash is made of tiny, abrasive fragments of pulverized rock and glass which can cause severe respiratory irritation when inhaled.
The inhaled particles may also trigger conditions like bronchitis or asthma.
The ashfall also reached the Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA) but flight operations were not severely impacted.
The ashfall prompted clearing operations to be conducted on the runway for safety reasons.
“Volcanic ash is highly abrasive and poses a severe risk to aircraft engines, exterior surfaces, and navigational instruments,” MCIA said.