Kanlaon Volcano erupts
Kanlaon Volcano erupts
The Kanlaon Volcano in Negros Oriental province erupted at 6:20 p.m. on Tuesday (March 29), the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said in an advisory.

The eruption that lasted for 12 minutes produced a volcanic plume 1500 meters above the crater and a "booming sound" was heard in some barangays near the volcano.

According to the same advisory posted on the agency's social media account, "traces of light ashfall were reported in Sitio Guintubdan, Brgy. Ara-al, La Carlota City, Negros Occidental."

According to Police Supt. Frankie Lugo, chief of the Canlaon City in Negros Oriental, several fire balls, which were coming from the crater of the volcano, started to flow following a booming sound.

A thick cloud also formed after the minor explosion but faded minutes later, Lugo said.


The Kanlaon Volcano remains under Alert Level 1.

"It is at an abnormal condition and is in a period of current unrest," Phivolcs said in its advisory.

The local government units are not allowing people to enter the four-kilometer radius Permanent Danger Zone (PDZ). Entry is strictly prohibited "due to the further possibilities of sudden and hazardous steam-driven or phereatic eruptions."

Phivolcs also asked Civil Aviation authorities to advise pilots "to avoid flying close to the volcano's summit as airborne as from a sudden eruption can be hazardous to aircraft."

Authorities are sill monitoring the volcano's activity as of posting time.

The volcano, which has been one of the most active in the country, last erupted on December 27, 2015.

Bacolod City-based journalist Shiela Gelera contributed to this report.