Kanlaon Volcano erupts again
KANLAON VOLCANO eruption, May 13, 2025 (2:55 a.m. to 03:00 a.m.). Screenshot from Dost-Phivolcs IP camera footage
MANILA, Philippines — Kanlaon Volcano erupted anew on Tuesday morning, said the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs).
READ: High level of volcanic unrest stays at Kanlaon
According to Phivolcs, a “moderately explosive eruption” occurred at Kanlaon Volcano’s summit crater at 2:55 a.m., which lasted for five minutes based on seismic and infrasound data.
“The eruption generated a grayish voluminous plume that rose approximately 3 kilometers above the vent before drifting to the general west,” Phivolcs said in its latest volcano bulletin.
Meanwhile, rumbling sounds of the eruption were reported in Barangay Pula, Canlaon City, Negros Oriental and La Castellana, Negros Occidental.
Incandescent pyroclastic density currents (PDCs) were also recorded to have descended the southern slopes of the crater.
“Large ballistic fragments were also observed to have been thrown around the crater within a few hundred meters and caused burning of vegetation near the volcano summit,” said Phivolcs.
Thin ashfall was then reported in Negros Occidental, specifically, Barangays Yubo and Ara-al in La Carlota City; Barangays Ilijan and Binubuhan in Bago City; and Barangays Biak-na-Bato, Sag-ang, and Mansalanao in La Castellana.
Alert Level 3 remains raised in the volcano, which means communities within its 6-kilometer radius of the summit crater must remain evacuated due to the danger of potential PDCs, ballistic projectiles, rockfalls, ashfall, and other related hazards.
“Communities that experience ashfall must take all necessary precautions and use protective masks or wet cloth to prevent ash inhalation, with special attention given to vulnerable persons, including the elderly, persons with respiratory or cardio-vascular diseases, expecting mothers and infants,” Phivolcs said.
Both local government units and residents must also exercise increased vigilance during intense rains as loose ash or pyroclastic material that have been deposited in the upper slopes of the volcano could lead to lahars and sediment-laden streamflows.
It was on April 8 when Kanlaon Volcano last erupted, producing a voluminous, bent plume approximately 4,000 meters tall.
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