Kanlaon logs three ash emissions on Saturday

Mount Kanlaon in Negros Island emitted ash plumes three times on Saturday, with each plume rising 150 meters above the summit crater, according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS).

In an interview with the DAILY TRIBUNE, the PHIVOLCS-Kanlaon Volcano Observatory (KVO) confirmed that the volcano generated three ash emissions from around noon until Saturday evening, 22 August.

The first emission produced a voluminous grayish plume from 11:23 a.m. to 1:48 p.m., lasting two hours and 25 minutes. The second emission was recorded from 3:11 to 3:28 p.m., lasting 17 minutes.

Both emissions generated plumes that rose 150 meters above the crater and were carried southeast by strong winds.

Kanlaon produced a third ash emission at 6:02 p.m., with the plume again rising 150 meters above the crater and being carried southeast by strong winds.

However, KVO clarified in a previous interview with DAILY TRIBUNE interview that the observed plume did not contain ash but consisted of white smoke or volcanic steam.

PHIVOLCS also reported a 54-minute period of “superheated” plume activity at the Kanlaon crater from 11:05 to 11:59 p.m. on Friday, 21 August.

The state volcanology institute maintained Alert Level 2 over Kanlaon and prohibited entry into the four-kilometer Permanent Danger Zone (PDZ) around the volcano.