Thousands of people evacuated due to volcanic eruption in Philippines

At least 2,800 people have moved into evacuation centres due to falling ash, gases and the threat of lahars after Kanlaon volcano in the central Philippines erupted on June 3 evening.

According to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PIVS), Kanlaon on Negros island erupted for six minutes on June 3 evening, sending a 5-km vertical plume into the atmosphere.

The PVIS raised the alert level for the volcano from one to two on a scale of zero to five, warning more explosive eruptions were possible.

Authorities in Canlaon city in Negros Oriental province ordered people living next to rivers downstream of the volcano to leave their homes and halt non-essential businesses.

Multiple flights to and from Bacolod, the capital of province and the nearest major airport to the volcano, were cancelled.

The Philippines is in the seismically active Pacific "Ring of Fire" that hosts more than half of the world's volcanoes. Kanlaon is one of 24 active volcanoes in the Philippines.

The eruption of Pinatubo, about 100 km from Manila, in 1991 was the most powerful volcanic explosion in the country in recent years, killing more than 800 people./.

VNA