Highlights
- State volcanolists recorded 309 rockfall incidents, 7 earthquakes around Mayon Volcano on Wednesday.
- Alert level also raised for Taal Volcano, near Manila, as 38 volcanic quakes, including 2 tremors lasting 2 minutes were recorded also Wednesday.
Manila: The alert level for Taal, a volcano near Manila, has been raised, even as Mount Mayon’s unres has intensified.
State volcanologists monitoring Taal Volcano recorded 38 volcanic earthquakes, including 2 volcanic tremors, each lasting two minutes on Wednesday.
They warned the elevated temperatures in the main crater lake could be a sign of a potential of steam or phreatic explosions, more volcanic quakes, toxic gas emission and ashfall from Taal Volcano's main crater — about 80km east of Manila.
Mayon's restiveness intensifies
Meanwhile, government seismologists on Wednesday noted an increase in the number of volcanic earthquakes and rockfall events around the restive Mount Mayon.
There were 309 rockfall incidents and seven volcanic earthquakes recorded near Mayon Volcano Wednesday, according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs). Sulfur dioxide flux, meanwhile, fell to 149 metric tons per day.
Alert Level 3 was raised on Mayon by Phivolcs since last week.
Amid ongoing unrest that could endure “for months”, Phivolcs Director Teresito Bacolcol urged residents of the Mayon Volcano's 6-km-radius permanent danger zone (PDZ) to remain in their evacuation sites.
"Based on our previous experiences, this activity may persist for a few months," he said, givciting the current rate of extrusion and low-level parameters. They also noted very slow effusion of lava, moderate plume emission, and an tonnes of sulfur dioxide being emitted, similar to eruptions in 2014 and 2018.
In 2018, lava fountaining and lava flow with occasional explosions and pyroclastic density current (PDC) were recorded within the 6-km PDZ. Mayon's 2018 eruption lasted from January to March, while in 2014 eruption lasted for "almost the same number of months."
Very slow effusion of lava, moderate plume emission, and an average of tonnes of sulfur dioxide were also recorded.
Entry into the 6-km PDZ, as well as flying close to the volcano are prohibited as ash from any sudden eruption can be hazardous to aircraft. Up to 14,000 have been evacuated from around Mayon.
Under Alert Level 3, Mayon is exhibiting magmatic eruption of a summit lava dome, with increased chances of lava flows and hazardous PDCs affecting the upper to middle slopes of the volcano and of potential explosive activity within weeks or days.
Flight path diverted
Flights to and from the Bicol Region have been diverted to a flight path to avoid volcanic ash cloud formation.
Office of Civil Defense (OCD) visited the provinces of Batangas and Albay amid the unrest of Taal and Mayon to coordinate preparations and response activities with affected LGUs. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr also visited Albay on Wednesday.
