Torrent of volcanic mudflow hits Philippine village

After the lahar stopped flowing, a shovel and three dump cars were called in to clean it, according to Fernandez, but it “might take some time.”

There were no immediate reports of deaths.

Lahars are enormous flows of volcanic dust that are deposited on the slopes of volcanoes and thrown out by large rain or snow melt. They may destroy townships.

The amount and size of the lahar are still being determined, according to Teresito Bacolcolcol, director of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology.

Bacolcol issued a common health warning that lahar was “dangerous” and contained volcanic ash.

Leah Martinez, 37, filmed the flow of volcanic dust flowing down a steep river near her community of Masulog, which is also close to the mountain.

” Before the lahar stream, there was a storm- like audio again”, Martinez told AFP.

” I rushed around. It was so quiet. I thought the mountain had erupted again”, she said.

” We could n’t see anything at first, then there were large stones, ashes and water flowing down the river”.

Another settlements were affected, but it was not known how many homes had been damaged.

Due to rising dust, gases, and the danger of lahars, hundreds of people have been forced to leave their homes in the Mount Kanlaon area.

The state agency for geological raised the risk of violent explosions from one to two on a range of one to five.

More than half of the world’s volcanoes are located in the seismically active Pacific” Ring of Fire” in which the Philippines is located.

One of the archipelago’s 24 active lava is located in Kanlaon.