Philippine volcano eruption sends villagers fleeing for safety
A plume of hot ash and gases up to 1.8 miles high forced residents to seek shelter after a volcano erupted in the Philippines.
There were no immediate reports of casualties in the latest explosion of Mount Kanlaon, on central Negros island, but authorities shut schools and imposed a night-time curfew after several villages were hit by ashfalls that clouded the the visibility of motorists and sparked health concerns.
âIt sounded like a cannon,â Mayor Jose Chubasco Cardenas of Canlaon city, which lies south-east of the volcano, told The Associated Press by telephone.
âThere have been quiet eruptions before, but this was one very loud.â
Disaster-response officials raised the danger level around Kanlaon due to âa greater risk of hazardous volcanic activityâ and ordered villagers within a six-kilometre (3.7 mile) radius of the crater to be evacuated.
About 100 people had fled to emergency shelters in Canlaon by nightfall after the mid-afternoon volcanic eruption, Mr Cardenas said.
The number of displaced people could reach more than 2,000 due to stronger prospects of more eruption, he added.
The Philippinesâ Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said the eruption had caused a pyroclastic density current â a superhot stream of ash, debris and rocks that can incinerate anything in its path.
The alert level around Kanlaon is at the third-highest of a five-step warning system, indicating âmagmatic eruption has begun that may progress to further explosive eruptionsâ.
The 2,435-metre (7,988-foot) volcano, one of the countryâs 24 most-active volcanoes, last erupted in June sending hundreds of villagers to emergency shelters.
Located in the so-called Pacific âRing of Fireâ, a region prone to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, the Philippines is also lashed by about 20 typhoons and storms a year, making it one of the worldâs most disaster-prone countries.
