Hundreds Evacuate Following Volcanic Alert in the Philippines

Hundreds Evacuate Following Volcanic Alert in the Philippines

Hundreds of residents in the Philippines were forced to evacuate their homes on Wednesday after a volcano emitted toxic gases, according to an official, with experts cautioning that an eruption could be imminent.

Around 300 people from villages located within a four-kilometre (2.5-mile) radius of the Kanlaon volcano in the central region were evacuated on Tuesday as a safety measure, the local government of Canlaon City reported.

The evacuees have sought refuge in schools and community centres away from the volcano, city information officer Edna Lhou Masicampo informed AFP on Wednesday.

"Residents from villages near the base of the volcano have reported a strong sulfur smell," Masicampo said, noting that most of the locals are farmers.

Classes were canceled, and several tourist spots in the city of about 60,000 people were closed on Wednesday due to the volcano alert.

Kanlaon's average daily sulfur dioxide emissions nearly tripled on Tuesday, reaching 9,985 tonnes.

"This is the highest recorded emission from the volcano since gas monitoring started," the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said in a statement.

The institute warned that the current volcanic activity could lead to eruptive unrest, posing a threat to residents in four nearby villages from fast-moving ash clouds, "ballistic fragments, rockfalls, and other hazards."

Standing over 2,400 meters (almost 8,000 feet) above sea level on the central island of Negros, Kanlaon is one of the 24 active volcanoes in the Philippines.

It has erupted 15 times in the last nine years.

In August 1996, three hikers were killed by ash ejection from the volcano.

In June, the state volcanology agency raised Kanlaon's alert level from one to two on a five-point scale, indicating a possibility of more intense eruptions.
The Philippines lies within the seismically active Pacific "Ring of Fire," which contains over half of the world’s volcanoes.