A violent eruption shook Mount Kanlaon in the central Philippines early Tuesday, spewing a huge ash cloud 4,000 meters high and triggering renewed warnings for safety for communities and schools around it.
The eruption, which started at 5:51 a.m. local time (22:51 GMT Monday), continued almost an hour and ended at about 6:47 a.m., said the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs). The ash cloud moved southwest, frightening residents and sparking concerns of additional volcanic activity.
❗️🌋🇵🇭 – Here’s another perspective on the explosive eruption of Kanlaon Volcano in the Philippines, which began at 5:51 AM local time today, April 8, 2025.
According to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS), the ongoing eruption has produced a… pic.twitter.com/92JcOzlfwg
— 🔥🗞The Informant (@theinformant_x) April 8, 2025
Video posted on social media caught the dramatic scene as grey ash roared high into the air over Negros Island, with awestruck witnesses watching from below. Thankfully, numerous residents of areas that were hit had already been evacuated after a previous eruption in December, greatly minimizing the initial risk.
We were ready for the eruption. Families in the 4 to 6 km risk zone were already evacuated,” said John De Asis, a La Castellana Negros Occidental rescue official. Local government has advised cancelling classes and work due to ashfall-prone places.
“I was apprehensive, though not as much as before because we now understand what to do,” Channel Nicor, who was waiting at a bus stop when the volcano erupted, remarked.
The volcano is still on Alert Level 3 on a five-level system, showing heightened unrest and the possibility of further eruptions. But Phivolcs chief Teresito Bacolcol said that no other warning signs such as rising volcanic quakes—have been seen that would justify raising the alert to Level 4.
Bacolcol cautioned, however, that the threat of a bigger eruption is still there and advised people to remain outside the 6-kilometer permanent danger zone.
Mount Kanlaon, which stands at 2,465 meters as the highest point in the Visayas, is one of 24 active volcanoes in the Philippines, situated on the seismically active Pacific “Ring of Fire.”
