Kanlaon Volcano spewed a grayish ash plume 1,500 meters above its summit crater at 2:32 PM on Saturday, February 15, 2025, during an eight-minute ash emission.
According to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs), the winds carried the ash westward, causing ashfall in several barangays of Bago City, Negros Occidental, including Abuanan, Binubuhan, Dulao, Ilijan, Ma-ao, and Mailum.
Seismic and infrasound instruments recorded the event, while an IP camera on the volcano’s southern side captured time-lapse footage of the ash emission, the state volcanologist said.
With Alert Level 3 still in effect at Kanlaon, authorities continue to monitor the volcano’s activity and urge residents to take precautions against ashfall.
Impacts
Since December 9, Kanlaon’s eruptions have devastated agriculture in the Negros Island Region (NIR), causing nearly P1 billion in losses.
The Department of Agriculture (DA)-NIR reported on February 9, that eruptions have damaged crops and livestock in five affected localities—Canlaon City in Negros Oriental, as well as La Castellana, Murcia, and the cities of Bago and La Carlota in Negros Occidental—resulting in losses exceeding P913 million.
Vegetable farmers suffered the heaviest losses, reaching P860.111 million, while rice farmers lost P49.966 million, corn farmers P2.028 million, and poultry and livestock raisers P900,100.
Canlaon City in Negros Oriental took the hardest hit, with losses totaling P782.49 million, while the four affected localities in Negros Occidental reported a combined P130.52 million in damages.
The DA-NIR identified 4,060 farmers impacted by the eruptions, including 2,599 in Negros Oriental and 1,461 in Negros Occidental. The eruptions also destroyed 2,956.74 hectares of farmland, leaving 1,639.25 hectares beyond recovery.
Farmers and livestock owners also lost 321 animals due to the predictable volcanic activities of Kanlaon.
Meanwhile, 4,406 evacuees in Canlaon, have sought shelter, with nearly half staying with relatives. In Negros Occidental, 5,800 evacuees from La Castellana, La Carlota, and Bago remain in evacuation centers.
Reymund Titong is a Filipino journalist steadily building his voice in the field of news reporting, driven by a commitment to tell meaningful and relevant stories.
He serves as a correspondent for Rappler, contributes to Negros Daily Bulletin, and maintains a blog on Medium.