By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) has recently recorded three volcanic quakes at Mt. Kanlaon.
The tremors were recorded within a 24-hour period based on the bulletin issued by Phivolcs to the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office (PDRRMO) of Negros Occidental yesterday.
Volcanologists said they did not observe any degassing activity in the volcano’s crater when it was visible.
However, ground deformation data indicates inflation of the edifice since December 2015, despite the absence of any emission of sulfur dioxide during the August 15, 2017 survey of the volcano by Philvolcs.
Early this month, Phivolcs raised the alert status over Mt. Kanlaon after they recorded a total of 244 volcanic quakes since June of this year.
Following the issuance of the alert status, park authorities from the Mt. Kanlaon Natural Park suspended all trekking activity and barred the public from traveling to the volcano’s four-kilometer danger zone.
Phivolcs has also coordinated with the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP), advising pilots to avoid flying close to the volcano’s summit as sudden phreatic eruptions can be hazardous to aircraft./WDJ