Philippine volcano eruption sends ash 2.5km into sky

An official said there might be a bigger explosive eruption in the next few days. Read more at straitstimes.com.

MANILA - A volcano erupted in the central Philippines on Feb 26 evening, sending a billowing plume of ash about 2.5km into the nighttime sky.

The two-minute eruption began at 7.04 pm local time, state volcanology agency director Teresito Bacolcol told AFP, saying “there might be a bigger explosive eruption in the next few days”.

Kanlaon Volcano, one of 24 active volcanoes in the archipelago nation, has had several major eruptions in the past century – including a 1996 blast that killed three hikers who were near the summit at the time.

“This is the second moderate eruption in a week,” Dr Bacolcol said in a phone interview, adding his agency would monitor the volcano for 24 hours before deciding if it should raise the alert level from two to three on its five-point scale.

“This event generated a plume that rose 2,500m above the crater before drifting southwest. Incandescent ballistics were observed to have rained around the crater,” the volcanology centre said in a statement released minutes later.

John De Asis, a rescuer in the nearby town of La Castellana, told AFP that ash had begun to descend on local neighbourhoods.