Philippine volcano evacuees face months in shelters

Legaspi: Thousands of people evacuated from around the active Mayon volcano may have to spend up to four months in temporary shelters, officials said on Saturday.

Mayon began spewing lava and ash since Monday, raising fears of a major explosion.

More than 39,000 evacuees have been told to prepare "for an extended stay of up to three months or four months in camps," said Cedric Daep, public safety and emergency chief in Albay province where Mayon is located.

Daep said that a 24-hour curfew has been imposed in an eight-kilometre radius danger zone.

Social Welfare Secretary Esperanza Cabral said that tons of relief goods, including food, bottled water, rice and noodles were trucked into the evacuation camps on Saturday.

"We have also brought in close to 4,000 face masks for the children in the areas where there is ashfall and particles in the air," she said, adding that more aid would be sent soon.

Mayon, renowned for its near-perfect cone, has erupted 48 times in recorded history. In 1814, more than 1,200 people were killed as lava buried the town of Cagsawa.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology has raised a level-three warning on a five-point scale for Mayon, indicating increased activity that may lead to a major eruption.