Kanlaon Volcano swelling

CEBU, Philippines — The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) has warned of the ongoing increased ground deformation changes in Kanlaon Volcano in Negros Island.

In its July 15 advisory, state volcanologists said they have monitored the “swelling” of the volcano’s edifice for the past month and the continued volcanic activities could indicate magmatic intrusion.

“Kanlaon has been undergoing slow but sustained inflation or swelling since 2022 based on continuous GPS and electronic tilt measurements, indicating long-term pressurization within the volcano” Phivolcs said.

“Considering that volcanic earthquake activity and elevated volcanic SO2 emission persist, the latest changes in ground deformation parameters could further indicate that magmatic intrusion beneath the edifice may be taking place, warning of increased chances of eruptive activity taking place,” they further said.

Phivolcs recorded six volcanic earthquakes and 2,556 tons of sulfur dioxide flux in Kanlaon Volcano on July 13.

It has been on Alert Level 2 since June 3, when an explosive eruption occurred at the summit vent of the said volcano that produced a voluminous plume that rapidly rose to 5,000 meters above the vent.

The increasing unrest of the volcano means “there is a current unrest driven by shallow magmatic processes that could eventually lead to explosive eruptions or even precede hazardous magmatic eruption at the summit crater.”

Avoiding the four-kilometer-radius Permanent Danger Zone is still advised to avoid volcanic risks. — (FREEMAN)