By CESAR JOLITO III

The Office of Civil Defense in the Negros Island Region (OCD-NIR) has intensified its preparedness measures following renewed volcanic activity at Kanlaon Volcano.

OCD-NIR Director Donato Sermeno said contingency plans have been aligned with the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) after a coordination meeting on March 16 aimed at strengthening inter-agency response.

The pre-disaster risk assessment meeting focused on ensuring faster response and minimizing risks to communities potentially affected by volcanic hazards.

Phivolcs flagged recent developments at Kanlaon as “alarming,” citing three minor eruptions in less than a month and sustained ash emissions — both indicators of heightened volcanic unrest.

Despite these developments, Phivolcs Director Teresito Bacolcol clarified that current activity remains within Alert Level 2, although authorities are closely monitoring conditions that could warrant escalation.

Bacolcol urged local government units to remain on standby, warning that communities beyond the four-kilometer permanent danger zone (PDZ) should be ready for possible evacuation if the alert level is raised to Level 3.

Sermeno noted that while some parameters could justify raising the alert status, authorities are also considering the impact on internally displaced persons before making any decision.

Authorities continue to call for heightened vigilance among localities and response clusters as uncertainty persists.

Meanwhile, a March 15 eruption triggered a forest fire within the PDZ, likely caused by volcanic debris such as ballistic projectiles or pyroclastic flows.

The blaze burned around 20 hectares of forest and 45 hectares of grassland, reaching parts of Barangay Masulog in Negros Oriental’s Canlaon City and Barangay Biak na Bato in Negros Occidental’s La Castellana before being brought under control the next day.

OCD-NIR said preparations will continue for all possible scenarios as monitoring efforts remain ongoing./CJ, WDJ