A vegetable farm within the 6-kilometer extended danger zone*OCD file photo
Task Force Kanlaon lifted the ban on entry into Kanlaon Volcano’s 6-kilometer extended danger zone starting Saturday, May 31.
The lifting of the ban gives evacuated residents a 10-hour daily window from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. to return to their homes to carry out farming and other essential activities.
The task force had suspended the 10-hour window from May 28 to 30 due to heightened volcanic earthquakes raising fears of another eruption at Kanlaon.
Raul Fernandez, Task Force Kanlaon chairperson, in his memorandum lifting the suspension, noted that a Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) bulletin on May 30 recorded only 12 volcanic earthquakes with a sulfur dioxide flux of 1,012 tons.
PHIVOLCS also reported 10 volcanic earthquakes and a sulfur dioxide flux of 809 tons from 12 a.m. Saturday to 12 a.m. Sunday, June 1.
However, Kanlaon is still on Alert Level 3, which means that the volcano is in a state of magmatic unrest, Fernadez reminded.
Local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Units in areas close to Kanlaon must strictly monitor the situation and conduct appropriate pre-emptive measures as necessary, he stressed.*