The muddy streamflow in the waterways of La Castellana, Negros Occidental, caused by the ashfall from Kanlaon Volcano’s recent eruption, is not as turbid as at was on Friday, an Office of Civil Defense (OCD) official said on Sunday, May 18.
According to the La Castellana Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office the quality of the water has improved, it is not as turbid as first observed, OCD Negros Island Region Director Donato Sermeno III said.
But it will have to be checked again on Monday with the incident management team, he said.
They will have to determine if the water is safe for use when it clears up, Sermeno said.
Residents on Friday were advised to boil all drinking water and avoid consuming fish from the affected rivers.
The muddy streamflow at the Bungahin River in Barangay Robles, La Castellana, was caused by heavy rain that washed down the debris spewed by Kanlaon during its eruption on May 13, Sermeno said on Friday.
La Castellana Mayor Rhummyla Mangilimutan said muddy streamflow was also seen in the waterways in Biak na Bato and Cabagna-an in her town.
Mari-Andylene Quintia, resident volcanologist at the Phivolcs La Carlota Observatory, said the muddy streamflow was caused by the pyroclastic density current or PDC spewed by Kanlaon Volcano during its eruption that was washed down by the rain.*