NEGROS OCCIDENTAL, Philippines – Kanlaon Volcano continues to defy any sense of calm, its rumbling presence far from quelled. On Saturday afternoon, February 15, it unleashed two rounds of ashfall, with the winds carrying the fallout westward into Bago City, affecting nine of its villages.
The latest volcanic activity followed a “minor eruption” on February 6, just nine days earlier, that had already triggered mudflows along the Buhangin River in the municipalities of La Castellana and Moises Padilla. The mudflows made their way through the Binalbagan River, engulfing the lowlands in Binalbagan town.
At 2:32 pm on Saturday, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) logged the first plume, a grayish column that soared 1,500 meters above the summit before being swept away by the prevailing winds. It was brief but forceful, lasting for about eight minutes.
Not long after, at around 5:55 pm, a second, smaller emission followed – a two-minute event that saw plumes rising to 700 meters, once again carried toward Bago.
Merijene Ortizo, head of the city disaster risk reduction management office in Bago, said the ashfall affected nine affected the following barangays:
- Mailum
- Ilijan
- Dulao
- Ma-ao
- Binubuhan
- Abuanan
- Tabunan
- Bacong
- Atipuluan
In Mailum, spring water sources have been contaminated by sulfur due to thick ashfall that blanketed the barangay, prompting the CDRRMO and the provincial disaster risk reduction and management council (PDRRMC) to deploy water tankers to deliver potable water to affected residents.
Bago Mayor Nicholas Yulo told Rappler on Monday, February 17, that water rationing in Mailum will continue until the sulfur contamination in the village’s spring sources is resolved through natural healing, such as rain.
Health Undersecretary Mary Ann Palermo-Maestral immediately advised Mailum residents to refrain from using sulfur-contaminated spring water for bathing or body cleansing.
“This can really cause skin, eye, and respiratory irritation,” Maestral said.
When skin is irritated, it will lead to stinging, redness, blisters, and dermatitis.
Respiratory irritation can cause coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath, chest tightness, throat irritation, bronchitis, asthma attacks, pneumonitis, heart diseases, among others.
Meanwhile, due to ash fall and other airborne particles from Kanlaon, the Office of the Provincial Veterinary (OPV) also expressed concern, as these particles could have adverse effects on livestock, poultry, and pets in the affected communities.
Dr. Placeda Lemana, the provincial veterinarian, warned that the ashfall and other airborne particles could cause respiratory problems, skin diseases, gastrointestinal illnesses, contamination of water and pasture grasses, and issues with the supply of animal forage.
Lemana said they would continue rescuing animals from affected localities like La Castellana and the cities of Bago and La Carlota, bringing them to safer shelters or temporary homes.
The capitol, she said, also continues to provide veterinary assistance, such as food, water, and medicines to all animal evacuees through constant veterinary medical missions.
In Negros Occidental alone, the Department of Agriculture in the Negros Island Region reported livestock and poultry losses of P900,100 since the December 9, 2024 eruption.
Task Force Kanlaon head Raul Fernandez said they remain in a wait-and-see status following Saturday’s twin ash emissions from Kanlaon.
“We are still waiting for two significant indicators: the occurrence of over a hundred volcanic earthquakes in one day, and a significant reduction in sulfur dioxide emissions in order to declare that Kanlaon is erupting,” Fernandez said.
In the February 17 Kanlaon bulletin, Phivolcs reported recording 32 volcanic earthquakes in Kanlaon as of Sunday, February 16, with 4,604 tons of sulfur dioxide flux.
Kanlaon’s eruption on December 9, 2024, along with the latest twin ash emissions, has already displaced thousands of Negrenses in both Negros Occidental and Negros Oriental.
Presently, Negros Occidental still has over 5,000 evacuees in various evacuation centers in La Castellana, Bago, and La Carlota, while Canlaon City in Negros Oriental logged more than 3,000 evacuees as well. – Rappler.com