Manila: Lava started to flow out from the crater Mount Mayon in Albay but volcanologists said it could still take days before a major eruption.
According to the Philippines Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs), lava started slowly cascading down the sides of the 2,463 metre-high volcano early Sunday, indicating a slow extrusion of magma from the crater.
“Visual and aerial observations this morning found a short and stubby lava flow approximately 350m in length, slowly and quietly flowing down the eastern side of Bonga Gully along the southeast slope of Mayon Volcano,” Phivolcs said in a bulletin released as 10am.
Last September 15, Phivolcs raised alarm over the possibility of eruption of Mt Mayon after it observed increasing incidences of tremors and rockfalls.
Despite lava oozing from the crater, the eruption alert level for the volcano remained at “3” in the six-step preparedness protocol. Alert level 5 equates to an actual eruption in progress while zero is equivalent to no activity.
“The small number of volcanic earthquakes and rockfall events for the past few days suggest a sluggish movement of the lava flow, and slow extrusion of lava from the crater. This means that magma is at the crater and that a hazardous eruption is possible within weeks. It is recommended that the six-km radius permanent danger zone (PDZ) around the volcano and the 7km extended danger zone (EDZ) on the southeastern flank be enforced due to the danger of rock falls, landslides and sudden explosions or dome collapse that may generate hazardous volcanic flows,” Phivolcs said.
Volcano enthusiasts expect a crater glow could be observed during the evening.
Presidential communication operations office secretary Herminio Coloma, Jr., in an interview aired over government radio station dzRB, said they are confident necessary preparations are in place in the event an actual eruption takes place.
“The NDRRMC (national disaster risk reduction and management council) estimated the people in evacuation areas have now reached some 12,931 families or 57,633 people from two cities and five municipalities in Albay,” he said adding the total combined assistance extended by the government and non-government organisation (NGO) is now at P88,773,524 (Dh73.06 million).
Coloma said top government officials will visit the evacuation centres to assess the situation there and determine what are the needs of the evacuees.
Mount Mayon counts among the most active volcanoes in the world, its last surge of activity — a phreatic explosion or an ejection of ashes and rocks from inside the volcano — was in 2013.
Over the past several years, local authorities have had to resort to immediate evacuation of residents whenever such volcanic activities occurred.
To allay this situation, Albay Governor Joey Salceda suggested people living in proximity to the volcano be permanently moved.
“It would be more practical if we can build permanent houses for the evacuees,” Salceda said in television interviews arguing it made sense since the government is spending millions to evacuate affected residents each time the volcano threatens to erupt. “This is the best option for us to attain our zero-casualty goal,” he said.
