Mayon Volcano: Philippines evacuates 3,000 people after series of mild eruptions - and alert level raised
The Philippines has evacuated nearly 3,000 villagers from a danger zone on the foothills of the active Mayon Volcano.
Officials have raised the alert level due to the volcano’s recent activity. Authorities raised the 5-step alert around Mayon Volcano in the northeastern province of Albay to level 3 on Tuesday after detecting intermittent rockfalls, some as big as cars, from its peak crater in recent days along with deadly pyroclastic flows — a fast-moving avalanche of super-hot rock fragments, ash and gas.
Alert level 5 would indicate that a major explosive eruption, often with violent ejections of ash and debris and widespread ashfall, is underway. “This is already an eruption, a quiet one, with lava accumulating up the peak and swelling the dome, which cracked in some parts and resulted in rockfalls, some as big as cars,” Teresito Bacolcol, the country's chief volcanologist, told The Associated Press.
Troops, police and disaster-mitigation personnel helped evacuate more than 2,800 villagers from 729 households inside a 6-kilometer (3.7-mile) radius from the volcano’s crater that officials have long designated a permanent danger zone, demarcated by concrete warning signs, Albay provincial officials said.
Another 600 villagers living outside the permanent danger zone have evacuated voluntarily to government-run emergency shelters to be safely away from the volcano, Claudio Yucot, regional director of the Office of Civil Defense, said.
The 2,462-meter (8,007-foot) volcano is one of the Philippines’ top tourism draws because of its near-perfect cone shape. But it’s also the most active of the country’s 24 restive volcanoes.
The Foreign Office has issued a new warning for the Philippines. It says on its website: “There are numerous volcanoes in the Philippines, any of which can erupt without warning. Sudden steam and ash explosions may happen at any time.
“The Mayon Volcano is currently at alert level 3 (increased tendency towards a hazardous eruption). Check news reports and follow local advice before travelling to any areas around volcanoes. Avoid volcanic areas during and immediately after heavy rainfall when there’s increased risk of lava flows.”