Tens of thousands flee Kanlaon volcano in the Philippines – News

• An eruption from the Kanlaon volcano in the Philippines has displaced tens of thousands of people.
• Around 87,000 people were evacuated, the Philippine Daily Inquirer reported, citing the chairman of the national disaster management, Gilbert Teodoro.
• According to local authorities, ash fell on surrounding villages in Negros Occidental province, around 530 kilometers south of the capital Manila.
• Accordingly, schools and businesses in the affected areas are closed.

According to the Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs), the volcano erupted on Monday and emitted an ash column approximately 4,000 meters high. During the almost four-minute eruption, rock fragments, ash and volcanic gases escaped from the crater.

These are deadly, Phivolcs warned, as they can burn anything in their path. According to the AP news agency, there are currently no fatalities due to the volcanic eruption.

According to AP, government scientists monitor air quality. Contamination of the air with toxic volcanic gases could require further evacuations. The danger level around the Kanlaon volcano was raised to level three out of five on Monday.

Almost 50,000 people evacuated from a city

The mass evacuations were carried out primarily in places west and south of Kanlaon, which were also covered by its ashes, the Philippine Civil Defense said. This also included the town of La Castellana in Negros Occidental. Almost 47,000 people would have had to be evacuated from a six-kilometer danger zone.

The city’s mayor told the AP by phone that more than 6,000 people had been placed in evacuation centers, apart from those who were temporarily staying with relatives in La Castellana until Tuesday morning.

According to the Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, another dangerous eruption is possible in the coming weeks. Residents are urged not to go into the danger zone. However, Philippine chief volcanologist Teresito Bacolcol told AP that it was a “one-off but large eruption.”

Most geologically active zone on earth

According to the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines, at least six domestic flights and one flight to Singapore were canceled and two domestic flights in the region were diverted on Monday and Tuesday due to the Kanlaon eruption.

The Philippines lies on the Pacific Ring of Fire, a volcanic belt that frames the Pacific on three sides. It is the most geologically active zone on earth. And the Philippines is hit by about 20 typhoons and storms per year, making it one of the countries most affected by natural disasters.

The 2,435-meter-high volcano, one of the 24 most active volcanoes in the country, last erupted in June, forcing hundreds of villagers into emergency shelters.