By CESAR JOLITO III
Following a moderately explosive eruption of Kanlaon Volcano on Thursday afternoon, February 19, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) has directed local governments across Negros Island to enforce strict safety measures and ensure public readiness.
The DILG instructed all local chief executives to ensure that residents within the four-kilometer permanent danger zone (PDZ) remain evacuated, while those within a six-kilometer radius remain on heightened alert.
Officials were also told to monitor areas for potential lahar flows and sediment-laden stream surges, particularly during heavy rainfall.
Local disaster risk reduction councils have been ordered to convene immediately, activate emergency operations centers, and implement Operation LISTO protocols tailored for Kanlaon Volcano.
Evacuation centers must be validated, relief supplies prepositioned, and the safety of responders and displaced residents ensured.
The DILG also reminded communities to follow health precautions during ashfall, including wearing face masks, limiting outdoor exposure, avoiding eye and respiratory irritation, and seeking medical attention for vulnerable groups such as children, the elderly, pregnant women, and those with pre-existing conditions.
The department’s Negros Island Region office is coordinating with the Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council to ensure rapid dissemination of advisories, continuous monitoring of bulletins from the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs), and timely submission of situation reports.
“The safety of the public remains our top priority,” the DILG said, warning that volcanic activity can escalate without warning and urging all communities to remain vigilant.
Phivolcs said the eruption at Kanlaon occurred at 4:38 p.m. on Thursday and lasted about two minutes.
A dark gray plume rose approximately 2,000 meters above the summit and drifted southwest, while pyroclastic density currents descended the southern and southwestern slopes within one kilometer of the crater./CJ, WDJ