BACOLOD CITY, Philippines – Negros’ Mount Kanlaon emitted steam early Sunday morning, December 10, a day after the volcano generated a low-energy phreatic, or steam-driven, eruption.
Benjamin Tanatan, analyst of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology monitoring station based in Canlaon City, Negros Oriental, said the steam emission happened around 5:30 a.m., spewing a cloud between 800 to 1,000 meters high.
Kanlaon was placed on Alert Level 2, meaning a “moderate level of unrest,” on November 15 after Phivolcs recorded 279 deep volcanic earthquakes over a 24-hour period.
Alert Level 2 is declared when “there is probable intrusion of magma at depth which may or may not lead to a magmatic eruption.”
The phreatic eruption on Saturday lasted some 10 minutes, with rumbling heard in Barangay Manghanoy, La Castellana town and thin ashfall reported in Sitio Guintubdan, Barangay Ara-al, La Carlota City, both in Negros Occidental.