Davide: Cebu towns ready should Kanlaon erupts

CEBU, Philippines - Despite the absence of an imminent threat from Mount Kanlaon in Negros, Governor Hilario Davide III said the province will not be complacent.

Yesterday, he directed the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) to send warnings and updates constantly to towns that may be affected by the volcanic activity.

“Di ta mokompiyansa. I asked him (PDRRMO chief) to inform the municipalities every now and then and take contingency measures,” Davide told reporters.

PDRRMO has already sent warnings to Asturias, Balamban, Toledo City, Pinamungajan, Aloguinsan, and Barili on Tuesday. These local government units are located in the province’s western area facing Negros Island.

Pinamungajan Mayor Glenn Baricuatro said he has instructed the police, fire department, disaster office, and local officials to be on the lookout and keep monitoring.

“We have to be very watchful even though there is no threat yet,” he told The FREEMAN.

Asturias Mayor Alan Adlawan said, “We are just observing the wind flow.”

He said he has also advised residents in the town to prepare protective gears and to stay indoors.

Yesterday, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) recorded 11 volcanic earthquakes at Kanlaon Volcano, a day after the agency raised its alert status from zero to one.

PDRRMO chief Baltazar Tribunalo said exposure to ash spewed by the volcano poses health hazard. He advised the public to take the “indigenous way” of protecting themselves like wearing of protective masks or covering their nose and mouth with towel in case the volcano erupts.

He said, however, the ash plume drifts with the winds towards southwest, away from the parallel towns in Cebu.

An Alert Level 1 status means that the volcano is at an abnormal condition and has entered a “period of unrest."

"Continuous emission of steam with minor ash from the summit crater has been observed this morning, while previously there was none," stated Phivolcs-Central Visayas’ report on Tuesday.

The alert level status also prohibits entry into the four-kilometer permanent danger zone around the volcano. Civil aviation authorities were also advised to remind pilots to avoid flying close to the volcano’s summit.

Mt. Kanlaon last erupted in June 2006. — (FREEMAN)