The eruption of a giant volcano has sparked the mass evacuation of 87,000 people.
The Kanloan volcano, located on the island of Negros, in the Philippines, began billowing with smoke on 9 December.
In a video shared online, which already has over 20,000 views, a cauliflower-shaped thick cloud of grey smoke can be seen bubbling through the air.
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The smoke travelled 1.86 miles (three kilometers) into the sky, sparking panic among local residents.
In the footage, filmed by an onlooker, the smoke appears to rise higher and higher, spreading over the base of the volcano.
Mount Kanloan is one of the tallest peaks in the Visayas, and stands more than 2,400 metres (8,000 feet) above sea level.
Thermal and x-ray camera monitors recorded hot flows of ash and debris.
These flows can travel hundreds of feet per second.
Local government units have advised people to execute a 3.7 mile (six kilometer) radius around the volcano.
The country’s civil defence office stated that the urgent evacuation of thousands of people was well underway.
Since the eruption, the alert level has been raised from level 2 to level 3, which is the highest classification of volcanic unrest.
Level 3 indicates that the eruption has been driven by a magmatic intrusion, and that a hazardous eruption could occur in the coming weeks.
PHIVOLCS (Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology) confirmed that alert level has risen in a statement, as reported by Need To Know.
It wrote: “This serves as a notice of alert level raise from Alert Level 2 to Alert Level 3 of Kanlaon Volcano.”
“An explosive eruption occurred at the summit vent of the Kanlaon Volcano at 3:03pm today, 9 December 2024.
“The eruption produced a voluminous plume that rapidly rose to 3,000 meters above the vent and drifted west-southwest.
“PHIVOLCS is raising the Alert Level of Kanlaon Volcano from Alert Level 2 (increasing unrest) to Alert Level 3 (magmatic unrest).
“This means a magmatic eruption has begun that may progress to further explosive eruptions.
“All local government units are advised to evacuate the six kilometer radius from the summit of the volcano and must be prepared for additional evacuation if activity warrants.”
The Kanlaon volcano is one of two dozen active volcanoes in the Philippines.
It is one of the most active volcanoes in the country and has already erupted once this year, on 3 June.
Prior to this, its last eruption was in December 2017.
PHIVOLCS is continuing to monitor the pyroclastic density currents.
According to the British Geological Survey, these currents are ‘inherently unpredictable’ and are ‘perhaps the most hazardous event to local areas’ during explosive volcanic eruptions.
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