Mount Kanlaon erupts; ashfall, rumbling sounds reported

At 2:55 a.m. on Tuesday, May 13, Mount Kanlaon on Negros Island erupted moderately for five minutes, generating a greyish plume that reached four and a half kilometers above the vent and drifting southwest.

Residents in Barangay Pula, Canlaon City, Negros Oriental, and La Castellana reported hearing rumbling sounds during the eruption, while thin ashfall was observed in La Carlota City, Bago City, and La Castellana.

Incandescent pyroclastic density currents (PDCs) descended the southern slopes within two kilometers of the crater, causing burning vegetation near the summit, and large ballistic fragments were thrown around the crater within a few hundred meters.

Alert Level 3 remains in effect due to ongoing magmatic unrest, with communities within a six-kilometer radius from the summit advised to remain evacuated.

Local government units are urged to prepare their communities within the PDC hazard zone for potential evacuation and aviation authorities must advise pilots to avoid flying close to the volcano's summit.