Mount Kanlaon volcano erupts, sending ash cloud 3 miles into the sky

Hundreds of residents living near Mount Kanlaon in the Philippines were ordered to evacuate on Tuesday after the volcano erupted, sending a three-mile-high column of ash into the sky that caused the cancellation of dozens of flights.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) he said Mount Kanlaon erupted for six minutes on Monday night, causing a “strong earthquake”, as the agency warned that ashfall and sulfuric odor would affect nearby villages.

Forty-three volcanic earthquakes were recorded in the 24 hours to midnight on Monday, according to the agency’s volcano summary.

Images on social media showed a cloud of ash shooting into the starry night sky. Others showed a thick layer of ash covering neighboring villages.

More than 60 flights from three national carriers were canceled overnight, impacting more than 5,000 passengers, according to the Philippine Civil Aviation Authority.

The Bacolod-Silay airport resumed operations at 11 a.m. Tuesday, but passengers are expected to face delays.

Since the alert level on the volcano was raised to 2 out of a possible 5 on Tuesday, local government officials have ordered the mandatory evacuation of all residents living within 3 kilometers (1.8 miles) of the volcano.

“Go to your respective evacuation centers, be vigilant and prepare important things like water and food,” said Jose Chubasco Cardenas, mayor of Canlaon city in Negros Oriental province, in a Facebook video.

Situated on Negros, the fourth most populous island in the archipelago, Mount Kanlaon is one of the country’s 24 seismically active volcanoes.

It spans two provinces and sits at the highest point on the island, with an elevation of 8,086 feet (2,465 meters) above sea level.

The Philippines is along the Fire ringa 40,000-kilometer arc of seismic fault lines around the Pacific Ocean that is home to more than half of the world’s volcanoes.

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