Mount Kanlaon erupts, sends ash plume into sky and forces school closures | VIDEO

Manila, Philippines: Mount Kanlaon, a restive volcano located on a central island in the Philippines, erupted briefly on Tuesday, sending a 4-kilometre (2.4-mile) plume of ash and debris into the sky. Authorities were compelled to suspend school classes in four nearby villages following the ashfall, according to officials.

There were no reports of injuries or damage from Mount Kanlaon’s latest eruption after dawn that lasted more than an hour and scattered ash in at least four farming villages southwest of the volcano on Negros island, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said.

Mount Kanlaon had last erupted in December, which led to the evacuation of thousands of residents. Many of these evacuees were still staying in emergency shelters on Tuesday as the volcano continued to show signs of unrest, the Office of Civil Defense reported.

Philippine chief volcanologist Teresito Bacolcol told The Associated Press there were no other key signs of restiveness, like a spike in volcanic earthquakes, that would prompt the alert on Kanlaon to be raised from the current level 3, which means a “high level of volcanic unrest." The highest alert, level 5, means a “hazardous eruption is in progress.”

“The possibility of a bigger eruption is always there,” Bacolcol said, urging people to remain vigilant and stay away from a 6-kilometer (3.7-mile) danger zone around Kanlaon.

Mount Kanlaon rises to 2,435 metres (7,988 feet) and is among the Philippines’ 24 most active volcanoes. In a past eruption in 1996, three hikers were killed and several others had to be rescued when the volcano erupted without prior warning.

The Philippines is located in the so-called Pacific “Ring of Fire,” a region prone to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. The archipelago is also lashed by about 20 typhoons and storms a year, making it one of the world’s most disaster-prone countries.

AP