Philippines: Mount Kanlaon erupts

Mount Kanlaon in central Philippines erupted on June 18, spewing columns of ash about 1,500 metres into the air. (Photo: thebigwobble.org)

Hanoi (VNA) – Mount Kanlaon in central Philippines, 150 kilometres to the south of Manila, erupted on June 18, spewing columns of ash about 1,500 metres into the air. 

The eruption has forced the country’s civil aviation office to warn flights of not flying close to the summit. 

Kenn John Veracruz from the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said that the authority has not detected any lava rising inside the 2,470-metre-high volcano. But they are analyzing how far the ash was scattered by the wind and evaluate its impacts on the nearby communities, he added. 

He also said there is possibility of another volcanic eruption. 

There has been no report of damage or injury yet but the authority will remain on high alert. 

Mount Kanlaon has erupted several times in the past century, making the government to impose a permanent four-kilometre danger zone around the volcano and people are not allowed to live in that area. 

It killed three hikers during an eruption in August 1996 and has become more active than usual in November 2015 so that the government had to ban hikers from its slopes. 

The Philippines lies on the Pacific “Ring of Fire” with over 20 active volcanoes./.