Dubai: Mayon Volcano in the Philippines spewed ash on Saturday, according to the Philippine Institute of Volcano and Seismology (Phivolcs).
Residents of Albay province said the sky around the volcano turned dark at around 5pm and that the smell of sulfur lingered in the air.
Phivolcs Director Renato Solidum told CNN Philippines that the phreatic or steam-driven explosion was ongoing.
Solidum said authorities have raised Alert Level 1 and residents of Albay are advised to exercise caution.
Albay second district Representative Joey Salceda said the grayish smoke plume was around 2.5km to 3km tall and was bent towards the south-west by strong winds.
Officials have distributed face masks to residents of affected villages, including Quirangay, Tumpa, Sua, Cabangan, Salugan, Poblacion, and Libod.
Some climbers take the risk of going up the peak of the volcano, which has erupted 48 times in the last 400 years.
Here's video of a climb made by a group in 2011, and the view at the top starts at about 5.0 minutes.
