General
Volcanic Eruption Forces Mass Evacuation in the Philippines
Nearly 90,000 people on the island of Negros were ordered to seek shelter after Mount Kanlaon spewed deadly ash and lava.
The Philippine authorities ordered nearly 90,000 people to evacuate after a volcano on the central island of Negros erupted, spewing a two-mile-high plume of deadly ash, lava and large rocks.
The volcano, Mount Kanlaon, erupted on Monday afternoon, and the authorities warned that it could happen again in the coming days.
“This is very destructive and it can burn everything in its path, including vegetation, buildings and humans,” said Teresito Bacolcol, the head of seismology at the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology. “This can kill.”
After the eruption, the authorities raised their alert level to 3 from 2, warning of “increased chances for sudden and even stronger explosive eruptions to occur.” The highest alert level is 5.
Officials declared a danger zone within a radius of 6 kilometers, or 3.7 miles, around the volcano. In the upland town of La Castellana, roughly 47,000 people were within the zone, according to the Office of Civil Defense.
The Panaad Stadium in nearby Bacolod City, which can accommodate 30,000 people, was designated the primary evacuation center. Shelters were also set up in eleven villages.
There are about 100 volcanoes in the Philippines, of which 24 are active. The country lies on the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, where 75 percent of the world’s volcanoes are situated.
Kanlaon has erupted more than 40 times since 1866, according to the seismology office. Three hikers were killed after an eruption in 1996.
