Kanlaon Volcano may erupt anew, Phivolcs warns

Kanlaon Volcano on Negros Island might erupt again in a manner similar to the Dec. 9 event when it spewed a voluminous plume that rapidly rose to 4,000 meters, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) warned.

- With Gilbert Bayoran

Teresito Bacolcol, Phivolcs director, said in a radio interview yesterday that Kanlaon is recently showing behavior similar to those recorded prior to the Dec. 9 eruption.

"Yesterday, (sulfur dioxide emission) was recorded to be at 3,511 tons per day. If you compare this to the previous days, it reached as high as 7,000 (tons/day). This was what we also observed prior to the Dec. 9 eruption. There was a drop in the sulfur dioxide (emission)," Bacolcol said.

He noted that prior to the Dec. 9 eruption, the sulfur dioxide emission went down to as low as 1,699 tons per day, which was coupled with an increase in the inflation of the volcano.

Bacolcol said the same behavior was noticed recently.