Mt. Kanlaon in Negros Island remains normal, according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs).
This was announced by the Negros Occidental Provincial Disaster Management Program Division head Zeaphard Caelian based on the transmitted message from Andelene Quintia of the Phivolcs Kanlaon Observation Station in La Carlota City on Wednesday
“It’s still on Alert Level 0. Although volcanic earthquakes are still being recorded, there are no significant changes in other monitoring parameters,” Quintia added.
Fake news about the status of Mt. Kanlaon have been viral on social media at the height of Mt. Taal’s eruption.
Earlier, Phivolcs released a notice on Oct. 25, 2019, minimizing the Mt. Kanlaon’s alert status from Alert Level 1 (abnormal) to Alert Level 0 (normal).
The bulletin stated that Kanlaon showcased a general decline of monitoring parameters to normal/baseline values since June 2019, lowering the status to normalcy.
“This means that observational parameters have returned to baseline levels and no magmatic eruption is foreseen in the immediate future. However, in the event of a renewed increase in any one or combination of the monitoring parameters, the alert status may step up once again to Alert Level 1,” the bulletin further discussed.
Volcanic earthquake activity, ground deformation, gas emission, and visual observation of the summit are the monitoring parameters used by volcanologists.
However, Phivolcs still cautioned the public to prevent themselves to enter into the four-kilometer radius permanent danger zone because of the perennial hazards of rockfalls, avalanches, sudden outgassing, and steam-driven or phreatic eruption at the summit area. (RJ Espartinez)