Mayon, the most active volcano in The Philippines, has begun to send lava down its slopes, while volcanic activity increases in an area that is home to thousands of mostly-poor farmers.
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Philippines’ Mayon Volcano “Quietly Erupts”, PHIVOLCS Alerts
On Sunday night, the lava began to appear on the slopes of Mayon, and according to Teresito Bacolcol, director of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, the authorities were on alert for extra developments.
“What we are seeing now is an effusive eruption,” Bacolcol said in an official statement, adding, “We are looking at this on a day-to-day basis.”
Official reports state that, as of last week, at least 12,800 people living within a radius of 6 km (3.7 miles) of the Mayon volcano were evacuated.
Bacolcol also stated that there was the probability that the area of high danger could expand if the eruption becomes violent.
LOOK | Mayon Volcano spews lava down its slopes late Sunday night, June 11.
Phivolcs moreover clarifies that an alert level 3 remains hoisted over Mayon even after the lava activity.
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Volcanologists’s official reports state that the lava is a further sign of increased activity, noting that there were also about 260 rockfall events in the past 24 hours, compared with 177 in the previous 24 hours. Moreover, more tremors were also recorded in the last 24 hours.
According to official reports of state volcanologists, sulfur dioxide emissions had also tripled on Saturday.
“There is a concomitant health risk while being close to the eruption because of inhaling sulfur dioxide gas or the particulate matter of ash-falls,” Teodoro Herbosa, Health Secretary, said in a press briefing on Sunday.
The alert level for the volcano remains at three on the Philippines’s five-step system, with the warning of tendency towards a hazardous eruption in weeks or days.
