FLAMING mud and rocks the size of a car cascaded from the slopes of Mayon volcano yesterday, raising the risk of a hazardous eruption, a volcanologist said.
"We’ve observed heightened activities in the volcano," said resident volcanologist Ed Laguerta. "From 6 a.m. on Saturday to 6 a.m. on Sunday, our instruments recorded a total of 111 volcanic tremors, a significant increase from Friday to Saturday’s 22."
Laguerta said lava was seeping out of the summit of the 2,462-meter volcano forming an elongated mass to about 800 meters downslope.
The lava flow deposited a stream of incandescent molten rocks along Mayon’s upper and middle slopes, about 3 km from the summit.
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said the increase in lava extrusion rate was also accompanied by an increase in sulfur dioxide emission, from the previous 1,251 tons per day to about 2,211 tons per day measured Saturday morning.
A 6-km danger zone was imposed around Mayon, but was widened to 7 km on the southeast slope, facing Legazpi City and Sto. Domingo town, due to the risks of lava flow.
"If the activities continued in the next few days, we may upgrade the alert level to 4, which means a hazardous eruption is imminent within hours to days," said Laguerta, adding they have also recorded increased sulfuric gas emissions.
Thousands of people in six towns in Albay packed their belongings as they prepared to flee their farms and homes due to increased volcanic activities in the last 24 hours that prompted authorities to raise the alert level to 3 on Friday.
About 60,000 people in Albay will be evacuated in the event of a major eruption, disaster official Cedric Daep said on Saturday.
"At this stage, except for ashfalls, the major hazards of rockfalls, lava flow and small rock avalanches all occur within the six kilometer-radius permanent danger zone," Phivolcs said.
Malacañang urged the public to keep out of the danger zone.
Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye gave the assurance the National Disaster Coordinating Council and local government units are on top of all disaster preparedness measures.
"Preparedness and coordination between the concerned government agencies, the local government units, as well as the communities in the area would be the key in maintaining a zero-casualty rate in the event that a major eruption occurs," he said.
Mayon volcano showed abnormal activity last month and spewed ashes on Thursday, covering homes in Malilipot town. When lava trickled from its crater late on Friday, authorities raised the alert level to 3 from 1.
At level 3, a dangerous hazardous explosion is considered possible; at 4 it is seen as likely and at 5, the highest alert, an eruption has occurred with lava flows or ash columns reaching 6 km.
Phivolcs has been watching Bulusan volcano in nearby Sorsogon province after it spewed ash and vented steam in March. Last month, volcanologists raised the alert level there to 2.
The Philippines lies on the "Ring of Fire," a belt of volcanoes that circles the Pacific Ocean, which is also prone to earthquakes.
Mayon, among the 22 active volcanoes in the country. has erupted around 50 times over the past 400 years. The most destructive eruption came in February 1841 when lava flows buried a town and killed 1,200 people.
The last time Mayon erupted was in 2000-2001. – Reinir Padua, Jocelyn Montemayor and Reuters
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