MANILA, Philippines: Philippine villagers near a restive volcano on a central island are bracing for possible evacuations that would require physical distancing because of the coronavirus pandemic, an official said Wednesday.
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said it detected dozens of small earthquakes on the western flank of Kanlaon volcano, which emitted plumes of steam up to 300 meters in the air overnight. Kanlaon on Negros island is one of about two dozen active volcanoes in the Philippines.
Those signs, along with a slight bulging of Kanlaon’s slope, “indicate that hydrothermal or magmatic activity is occurring beneath the edifice,” the institute said. It added that the volcano “is at an abnormal condition and has entered a period of unrest.”
Zeaphard Caelian, who heads the disaster response agency in Negros Occidental province, said authorities issued an initial alert in March after Kanlaon began showing signs of restiveness, which intensified last weekend.
More than 20,000 people in eight villages within 6 to 12 kilometers of Kanlaon would have to be evacuated if the volcano shows signs of an imminent eruption. Officials are identifying evacuation centers where physical distancing could to be observed to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, Caelian said.
The Philippines has reported more than 32,000 confirmed coronavirus infections, including 1,204 deaths, among the highest in Southeast Asia.
The volcano-monitoring institute warned the public from venturing into a permanent four-kilometer danger zone around Kanlaon due to possible sudden eruptions of steam. It advised airplanes to avoid flying close to the summit of the 2,465-meter mountain.
Philippine villagers brace as volcano grows restive
https://arab.news/vgr9g
Philippine villagers brace as volcano grows restive
- Dozens of small earthquakes detected on the western flank of Kanlaon volcano
- Kanlaon on Negros island is one of about two dozen active volcanoes in the Philippines
Bangladesh summons Myanmar envoy after border clashes
- A dozen villages in Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar district have been affected by the violence
DHAKA: Bangladesh on Tuesday summoned the ambassador of Myanmar after civil war gun battles in the neighboring country spilled over the border, wounding a Bangladeshi girl.
Heavy fighting in Myanmar’s Rakhine state this month has involved junta soldiers, Arakan Army fighters and Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army militia guerrillas.
Authorities said around a dozen villages in Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar district have been affected by the violence.
Twelve-year-old Huzaifa Afnan was struck by a bullet, while a Bangladeshi fisherman had his leg ripped off after stepping on a landmine near the frontier.
“Bangladesh reminded that the unprovoked firing towards Bangladesh is a blatant violation of international law and a hindrance to good neighborly relations,” a Foreign Ministry press statement said.
Myanmar’s ambassador to Bangladesh, U Kyaw Soe Moe, was summoned to the Foreign Ministry on Tuesday, where he expressed sincere sympathy to the injured victims and their families.
“My daughter was supposed to go to school, but she is on a ventilator,” Afnan’s father Jasim Uddin said. “My heart is bleeding for my baby girl.”
More than a million Rohingya have fled their homes in Myanmar, many after a 2017 military crackdown, and now eke out a living in sprawling refugee camps just across the border in Bangladesh.
ARSA, a Rohingya armed group formed to defend the persecuted Muslim minority, has been fighting the Myanmar military, as well as rival Arakan Army guerrillas.
On Monday, Bangladeshi border forces detained 53 ARSA fighters who had crossed the frontier.
Bangladeshi police officer Saiful Islam, commander of the local Teknaf station, said all detainees were being held in jail, except one fighter who was receiving hospital treatment for bullet wounds.
“These individuals have a history of living in the refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar and crossing into Myanmar,” Islam told AFP.
