Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 6) — The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) on Tuesday urged pilots to avoid flying near Kanlaon Volcano, the third restive volcano in the country that airmen are being warned about.
\”Flight operators are strongly advised to avoid flying in close proximity to the volcano’s summit due to the possibility of sudden and hazardous steam-driven or phreatic eruptions,\” CAAP said in a statement. \”Such eruptions may pose a significant hazard to aircraft from the surface up to 10,000 feet.\”
Entry has also been prohibited within the 4-kilometer radius of Kanlaon’s permanent danger zone.
The volcano located on Negros Island is currently under Alert Level 1, which means \”low-level unrest.\”
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said this means that \”hydrothermal, magmatic, or tectonic disturbances may be underway. The source of activity may be shallow, near the summit crater or in the vicinity of the edifice.\”
Speaking to CNN Philippines’ The Source, Ma. Antonia Bornas, chief of Phivolcs’ volcano monitoring and eruption prediction division, said the volcano has been producing low-frequency quakes in the past months.
From 5 a.m. on Monday until 5 a.m. on Tuesday, Phivolcs said it recorded five volcanic quakes in the area.
Its sulfur dioxide emission also significantly rose to 1,089 tons per day on Monday from normally 50 tons a day, Bornas noted.
On Monday, CAAP also notified pilots not to fly near Mayon Volcano in Albay and Taal Volcano in Batangas due to their continued unrest.
