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[av_heading heading=’Thousands displaced as Mayon rumbles’ tag=’h3′ style=’blockquote modern-quote’ size=” subheading_active=’subheading_below’ subheading_size=’15’ padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=” av-medium-font-size-title=” av-small-font-size-title=” av-mini-font-size-title=” av-medium-font-size=” av-small-font-size=” av-mini-font-size=” admin_preview_bg=”]
BY JULIO YAP JR. and ADRIAN STEWART CO
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January 16, 2018
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MANILA – Forced evacuation was ordered in Daraga and Legazpi City in Albay province as the “relatively high unrest” in Mayon volcano prompted the authorities to raise the alert level to 3.
Police were tasked to prevent residents from returning to their houses, Romina Marasigan, spokesperson for the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, told a news conference on Monday.
“May lava flow na sa Barangay Miisi, Daraga, Albay,” Marasigan told reporters.
Mayon threatened to erupt on Saturday. Around 3,061 families (12,044 individuals) in Camalig, Guinobatan and Malilipot towns have evacuated their homes as of Monday afternoon.
At least three lava collapse events happened on Monday, producing rockfall, or small-volume pyroclastic density currents.
Seismic records showed these occurred at 9:41 a.m., 10:05 a.m. and 11:07 a.m., lasting five minutes, seven minutes and eight minutes, respectively, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said.
The first two events produced an ash cloud that rained ash over barangays Travesia, Muladbucad Grande, Maninila, and Masarawag in Guinobatan town.
The third produced a grayish to dirty white ash column with a maximum of height of about 1,000 meters above the summit, Phivolcs said in Bulletin No. 15 released at 12 noon on Monday.
Alert level remains at 3 as of press time. Phivolcs raised the level to 3 from 2 on Sunday night with the rapid increase of magma that could lead to a hazardous explosion within weeks or days.
“We are monitoring the amount of gas emissions from the volcano,” said Phivolcs director Renato Solidum. “If we see a huge gas output, or there are explosives from the summit, we will consider raising it to alert level 4.”
Alert level 3 is classified “relatively high unrest,” a Phivolcs table of Mayon volcano alert levels showed. This means magma is close to the crater and eruption is possible within weeks.
Volcanic quakes and tremor may become more frequent, there is further increase in sulfur dioxide flux, occurrence of rockfalls in summit area, vigorous steaming/sustained crater glow, and persistent swelling of edifice, the table showed.
Under alert level 4, or “intense unrest,” a hazardous eruption is possible within days, Phivolcs said.
There are persistent tremors, many “low frequency”-type earthquakes, the sulfur dioxide emission level may show sustained increase or abrupt decrease, there is intense crater glow, incandescent lava dome, lava fountain, and lava flow in the summit area./PN
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