The Office of Civil Defense lifted the ban on the 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. entry into the 6-kilometer extended danger zone (EDZ) at Mt. Kanlaon effective Thursday, June 26, Donato Sermeno III, OCD Negros Island Region director and Task Force Kanlaon vice chairperson, said.
The suspension on entry into the EDZ was lifted since the latest Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology bulletin reported that from 5 a.m. Wednesday to 5 a.m. Thursday there were only four volcanic earthquakes recorded at Kanlaon with a sulfur dioxide flux of 2,382 tons.
The lifting of the prohibition allows residents displaced by Kanlaon’s unrest, who are living in evacuation centers, to enter the EDZ for 10 hours daily to carry out farming and other essential activities in their villages, he said.
The OCD had suspended entry into the EDZ on Tuesday when an increase in volcanic earthquakes and a drop in sulfur dioxide emissions were recorded at the volcano.
Similar indicators were experienced prior to two previous eruptions, Sermeno said.
Low sulfur dioxide emission is an indicator that the volcano’s conduits might be blocked. Explosive eruptions can be triggered by blocked conduits, which cause over pressurization, Phivolcs said earlier.
Kanlaon remains under Alert Level 3 that means the volcano is in a state of magmatic unrest.*