The Kanlaon volcano erupted on the island of Negros, in the center of the country, shortly after seven in the evening, which led to instructions being issued to residents of nearby areas to wear masks to protect from the ash.
“When the volcano erupted, we heard a sound like thunder,” Ethan Ascentista Kho, 35, said from his home in the town of Pula, about 6 kilometers from the volcano.
He added: “It was like a fire breaking out in the crater of a volcano, which lasted for about a minute or two.”
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said, “The eruption… produced a huge cloud that quickly rose to 5,000 meters,” raising the alert level from first to second on a scale of five.
The institute also reported the possibility of flows of ash, rock and gas, called lava flows, at the foot of the volcano.
Joe Alingasa, a relief official in the municipality of San Carlos, said that the authorities decided to evacuate about 500 families living near the volcano “as quickly as possible.”
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