The Philippines’ most active volcano yesterday was gently spewing lava down its slopes, alerting tens of thousands of people they might have to quickly flee a violent and life-threatening explosion.
More than 12,600 people have left the mostly poor farming communities within a 6km radius of Mayon volcano’s crater in mandatory evacuations since volcanic activity increased last week, but thousands more remain within the permanent danger zone below Mayon, an area long declared off-limits to people, but where generations have lived and farmed because they have nowhere else to go.
With the volcano beginning to expel lava on Sunday night, the high-risk zone around Mayon might be expanded should the eruption turn violent, Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology director Teresito Bacolcol said.
Photo: EPA-EFE
Bacolcol said if that happens, people in any expanded danger zone should be prepared to evacuate to emergency shelters.
“What we are seeing now is an effusive eruption,” Bacolcol said. “We are looking at this on a day-to-day basis.”
From a distance, Associated Press journalists watched lava flow down the volcano’s southeastern gullies for hours on Sunday night. People hurriedly stepped out of restaurants and bars in the seaside district of Legazpi, the capital of northeastern Albay province about 14km from Mayon, many of them snapping pictures of the volcano that is a popular tourist draw known for its picturesque conical shape.
Albay was placed under a state of emergency on Friday last week to allow for quicker distribution of any disaster relief funds in the event of a major eruption.
The volcano had been raised to alert Level 3 on a five-step system on Thursday last week, warning that the volcano was in a state of high unrest and a hazardous eruption was possible in weeks or days.
With lava flowing down from the volcano gently, Bacolcol said the alert level would stay at Level 3, but it could be raised if the eruption turns perilous.
The highest alert, Level 5, would mean a violent and life-threatening eruption is underway with ash plumes shooting into the sky and superheated pyroclastic streams endangering more communities in Mayon’s foothills.
Mayon is one of 24 active volcanoes in the Philippines. It last erupted violently in 2018, displacing tens of thousands of villagers. In 1814, an eruption buried entire villages and reportedly left more than 1,000 people dead.
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