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Philippines’ Kanlaon Volcano erupts, spewing ash 4km high

Social media footage captured the dramatic ascent of the massive ash plume as Kanlaon Volcano on Negros Island roared back to life

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Kanlaon Volcano on the island of Negros, central Philippines, erupted early on Tuesday morning, sending a plume of debris 4km into the sky. Photo: X/philvolcs_dost
Agence France-Presse
A volcano in the central Philippines erupted early on Tuesday morning, sending a plume of ash 4km (2.5 miles) into the sky and forcing authorities to close nearby schools.
Kanlaon Volcano, one of 24 active volcanoes in the Southeast Asian nation, erupted in December, prompting the evacuation of surrounding villages.

The area around the volcano on the island of Negros was still under evacuation orders when Tuesday’s eruption occurred.

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Philippines’ Kanlaon Volcano erupts, spewing ash 4km high

Philippines’ Kanlaon Volcano erupts, spewing ash 4km high

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said in a statement that the “explosive eruption” at the summit vent of Kanlaon Volcano began at 5.51am.

The volcano produced “a voluminous bent plume around 4,000 metres tall” that drifted southwest, it said.

Videos posted on social media showed a wide, billowing plume of smoke slowly stretching into the sky. The eruption stopped at 6.47am, the institute reported later.

“We were prepared for the eruption. The families within 4km to 6km were already evacuated during the previous eruption last December,” said John De Asis, a rescue official in Negros Occidental province’s La Castellana municipality.

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