FACT CHECK: Photos, videos of Kanlaon Volcano spewing fountain of lava are fake

Claim: Kanlaon Volcano is spewing lava as seen in photos and videos circulating on social media.

Rating: FALSE

Why we fact-checked this: The post bearing the claim has gained 1,200 reactions, 150 comments, and 184 shares as of writing. 

“The fire is so strong. Lord, please guide those who are near the volcano #Canlaon,” the post reads. 

Similar photos and videos are also circulating on Facebook and YouTube. 

FACTS: The photos and videos showing Kanlaon Volcano spewing lava are fake, according to the Canlaon City Tourism Unit.

“Canlaon is not going through this. Remain calm, our local government units are working tirelessly to help anyone in need of immediate assistance,” the local government said in a Facebook post on Tuesday, June 4. 

The video showing an explosive eruption and lava flow originated from the YouTube account Newsflare showing the eruption of Anak Krakatau in October 2018 in Indonesia, not of Kanlaon.

Anak Krakatau is a volcanic island that emerged in 1927 from Krakatoa volcano.

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Kanlaon volcano: Kanlaon Volcano in Negros Island had an “explosive eruption” on Monday evening, June 3, with the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) raising alert level 2, which means there is “increasing unrest.”

​​The volcanic activities prompted mandatory evacuation and closure of businesses around the area. It also disrupted flights across the country. 

The water supply in some villages around the volcano has also been contaminated by sulfur. Around 23,000 sugarcane plantations in Negros Occidental and Negros Oriental have been ruined by ashfall and debris from the eruption.

As of June 4, Canlaon City in Negros Oriental and La Castellana in Negros Occidental have been placed under a state of calamity. In its latest volcano bulletin issued on June 6, Phivolcs said it recorded 27 volcanic earthquakes and a 1,500-meter tall plume in the past 24 hours. – James Patrick Cruz/Rappler.com 

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