Sixteen families in Negros Occidental’s La Castellana town are not yet allowed to return home, more than a month following the phreatic eruption of Kanlaon Volcano.
La Castellana municipal information officer Remue Lajo said the families, composed of 52 residents, living within Kanlaon’s four-kilometer permanent danger zone (PDZ), are still staying at covered courts in Barangays Masulog and Biak-na-Bato.
They were among the 30 families who stayed in evacuation centers last June.
Meanwhile, the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (MDRRMO) said around 4,000 evacuees have been allowed to return to their homes.
MDRRMO head John Asis said 1,400 families were transported back to their respective barangays.
Asis advised the returning evacuees to be vigilant, as Kanlaon remains restive and could erupt again.
He also warned them not to drink water sourced locally, which may be contaminated following the eruption.
Around 190 families or 689 residents of Barangay Cabagna-an, and 179 families or 561 residents of Barangay Sag-ang returned to their homes in June.
About 170 more families or 565 residents returned to Cabagna-an a week later.
Earlier, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) observed an increase in ground deformation in Kanlaon Volcano’s edifice, as it warned of higher chances of an eruption taking place.
Phivolcs Director Teresito Bacolcol said significant changes at the volcano have been observed since June 18.
The unrest, driven by shallow magmatic processes, could eventually lead to explosive eruptions or even precede a hazardous magmatic eruption at Kanlaon’s crater, Phivolcs said.
The agency also reported volcano-tectonic earthquakes produced by rock fracturing, including 85 weak low-frequency quakes, which indicated the movement of volcanic fluids inside Kanlaon.
Phivolcs advised residents near the PDZ to be vigilant to reduce the risk of volcanic hazards.
Kanlaon has been emitting high concentrations of sulfur dioxide, averaging 1,273 tons per day, before its eruption last June 3, Phivolcs said./WDJ