MANILA — The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) on Wednesday warned the public against a possible magmatic eruption of the Kanlaon Volcano, saying that state volcanologists recorded the highest level of sulfur dioxide from the volcano since 2009.

Kanlaon's daily average emission of sulphur dioxide almost tripled to 9,985 tonnes on Tuesday.

“Ito na ang pinakamataas na na-record natin instrumentally simula noong nagsusukat tayo ng volcanic gas sa Kanlaon simula noong 2009,” said Phivolcs Volcano Monitoring and Eruption Prediction Division chief Mariton Bornas. 

“Dahil mataas ang monitoring parameters natin, medyo anomalous po talaga ang mga ito… Tumataas po talaga ang tsansa na magkaroon tayo ng magmatic eruption,” she told state television PTV. .

The Kanlaon volcano’s last magmatic eruption was in 1902, the Phivolcs official said.

“Dati po mga pawang phreatic o steam-driven eruptions lamang,” she said.

“Ngayon lang po tayo magkakaroon ng magmatic eruption kung sakali,” she added.

State volcanologists could not predict when exactly the volcano would erupt, Bornas said.

“Hindi po natin masasabi sa ngayon kung ano yung oras, araw o linggo o buwan kung kailan puputok ang bulkan,” she said.

“Kailangan araw-araw nating inaanalisa at ini-evaluate lalo sa isang bulkan tulad ng Kanlaon volcano na matagal pong hindi pumuputok ng magma,” she added.

Phivolcs urged local government units near the rumbling volcano to be on alert and ensure that no individual was in the permanent danger zone.

“Kapag nagkaroon tayo ng matinding pag-ulan… malamang magkakaroon po tayo ng lahar na sumasabay sa pagputok ng bulkan dahil mabilis na natra-transform at inaanod ang mga abo ng ulan,” Bornas said.

She also reminded residents near Mt. Kanlaon to wear face masks if they smell the sulfur dioxide’s foul odor.

Pregnant women, elderly, persons with comorbidities and infants should be more cautious against inhaling the volcano’s emissions.

HUNDREDS FLEE 

Some 300 residents of villages within 4 kilometers of the Kanlaon volcano crater were evacuated on Tuesday as a precaution, the local government of nearby Canlaon City said.

The evacuees have taken temporary shelter at schools and community centers away from the volcano, city information officer Edna Lhou Masicampo told AFP on Wednesday.

"People from villages near the foot of the volcano have been complaining about the strong smell of sulfur," Masicampo said, adding most residents are farmers.

Classes were suspended and some tourist spots in the city of around 60,000 people were closed on Wednesday due to the volcano warning.

Rising more than 2,400 meters above sea level on the central island of Negros, Kanlaon is one of 24 active volcanoes in the Philippines.

It has erupted 15 times in the past nine years.

Three hikers were killed in August 1996 due to ash ejection from Kanlaon.

The state volcanology agency raised the alert level for the volcano in June from one to two on a zero-to-five scale, warning more explosive eruptions were possible.

The Philippines is located in the seismically active Pacific "Ring of Fire", which contains more than half the world's volcanoes.

– With a report from Agence France-Presse