The Aftermath after the Phreatic Eruption of Mount Canlaon

The aftermath when Mt. Canlaon erupted yesterday

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Mt. Canlaon is like a sleeping giant. It looks serenely beautiful with its white crown surrounding the portal but it's terrifying when it's angry like a flaming dragon!

It was so calm that early morning that nobody would expect the tragedy that was about to happen!

Without warning, the volcano suddenly spewed white smoke above the darkening sky since it was past 6pm. then thick black smoke followed way up in the sky!

Then it erupted spewing fire like an angry dragon making terrifying sounds of rocks underneath the volcano!
The volcanologists called it phreatic volcanic eruption. In my own opinion, maybe it was the aftereffects after the long dry season followed by heavy rain that triggered the eruption!

There was chaos everywhere since it happened at night and there were many residents staying there, most of whom were farmers, who rush down the mountain to seek refuge leaving behind their belongings!

We depended so much on the natural resources that we are benefiting because of its rich volcanic soil, making Canlaon a vast supplier of vegetables and palay (rice grains), including the free flowing water which is our main source of livelihood. It's a pity that after the long drought here comes another tragedy which severely devastated our poor farmers!

The Aftermath

That one-night eruption caused a total damage especially those who had just started with their planting and those vegetables that were about to be harvested.

The farmers immediately went back the following morning when the eruption calmed down despite the warnings from the higher ups since tremors can still be detected. Their families remained in the evacuation center and supervised by the DSWD while they went up to see if there's still some plants that can still be saved and sold in the market.

The cauliflowers were deeply covered with ashes. It will gradually rot and useless!

The ground was covered with dust.:(

You could imagine the downcast expression of this farmer upon seeing that their plants was beyond recovery!

His loyal carabao did not run berserk but rather waited for his master. The black animal looked like an albino being covered with ashes whole night! The farmer was still thankful that the animal did not suffocate.

Even the banana trees went limp from the ash falls.

Ashes were deep and this farmer saw that his eggplants were damaged too!

The volcano still looked cloudy early this morning.

Few hours after, Mt. Canlaon went calm and meek as if nothing happened! Perhaps it was still a blessing in disguise when the rain came washing the ashes away. I can imagine the thick mud mixed with ashes! Our water needs purifying too.

A notice to the public was posted later on. They said that it's not yet safe to go back up there since there's still a possibility that it would erupt again.

My late son used to be a tour guide whenever there were foreigners since he can speak good English and he has been doing it since he was a kid just for enjoyment. Antonia's mom is a trekker too. As you can see on the above photo, my son was based on the other side of the mountain called Makawiwili. It's like the twin brother of Mt. Canlaon. It is said that it's a link to the other mountain and it could be fatal when it happens! The trekkers are allowed to camp there and have a view of the volcano but with corresponding permit from the Tourism office for safety. They can only go up with the assistance of the mountain tigers. They're a team of trained tourist guides. As of now, this place is strictly off limits until further notice from the PHILVOLCS.

I hope and pray that everything will be back to normal soon.

Thank you for dropping by my page.

@Sarimanok