Lava seen at Philippines’s Mayon volcano as thousands evacuate
At least 12,800 people have been evacuated from the area around the mountain due to increasing volcanic activity.
Mayon, the Philippines’ most active volcano, has begun pouring lava as volcanic activity ramps up in an area that is home to tens of thousands of mostly poor farmers.
Lava began appearing on Mayon’s slopes Sunday evening, and Teresito Bacolcol, director of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, said authorities were wary of further developments.
“What we’re seeing now is an exuberant eruption,” Bacolcol told The Associated Press news agency. “We’re looking at this on a day-to-day basis.”
At least 12,800 people living within a 6 km (3.7 mi) radius of the Mayon volcano have been evacuated since last week. Bacolcol said there is a possibility of the high-risk zone expanding if the eruption turns violent.
The area below Mayon, about 330 km southeast of the capital Manila, has been designated a permanent danger zone, but many thousands of people continue to live there because they have nowhere else to go.
Volcanologists say the lava is a further sign of increased activity, noting there were also about 260 rockfall events in the past 24 hours, compared to 177 in the previous 24 hours. More quakes were also recorded – 21 in the past 24 hours compared to two previously.
Sulfur dioxide emissions had also tripled by Saturday, according to state volcanologists.
“There is an additional health risk if you are close to the eruption from inhaling sulfur dioxide gas or the particles from ashfall,” Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa told a press briefing on Sunday.
The alert level for the volcano remains at three in the Philippines’ five-stage system, meaning there is a tendency for a dangerous eruption in weeks or days.
Albay province, where the conical Mayon is a popular tourist attraction, was placed under a state of emergency on Friday to allow for faster distribution of emergency aid in the event of a major eruption.
Mayon is one of 24 active volcanoes in the Philippines and last erupted violently in 2018, displacing tens of thousands of villagers.
The archipelago is located on the so-called “Ring of Fire” in the Pacific Ocean, the edge of seismic faults where most of the world’s earthquakes and volcanic eruptions occur. It also sees frequent typhoons and tropical storms with a typhoon expected to hit the area later this week.
The country’s most powerful eruption in recent decades was Mount Pinatubo in 1991, which killed more than 800 people and created an ash plume that traveled thousands of miles.