‘Mayon’s Big Bang Likely To Happen In Two Weeks’

By Rhaydz B. Barcia, Correspondent

Legazpi City: The oozing snakelike lava flow from Mount Mayon’s crater has reached 800 meters down slope or just a few kilometers away from the six-kilometer radius of the permanent danger zone. There, up to now, farmers keep on tilling their farms waiting for more definitive signs that the volcano will really explode.

This situation has made the military in Bicol reactivate “Task Force Mayon” to quickly move to rescue people in trouble as soon as the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) raises the alert to level 4, which demands that all be evacuated out of the danger zone.

Arsenio Arugay, commanding general of the Army’s 901st Infantry Brigade based in Villahermosa Daraga, Albay, told The Manila Times that it was Lt. Gen. Pedro Cabuay, Southern Luzon commanding general, who reactivated “Task Force Mayon.”

Arugay said an augmentation force of one army battalion will be deployed in Albay.

That force will assist during evacuation with rescue and relief operations as well as provide security in coordination with the Philippine National Police, Arugay said.

Ernesto Corpuz, Phivolcs volcano monitoring eruption chief, told The Times, “Within two weeks a big bang is likely to occur. This is based on the parameters being exhibited by the volcano.”

A continuous stream of incandescent materials toward Bonga gully was observed at the volcano from 6:43 Sunday night until 3:58 Monday morning following the flow of detached materials coming from advancing lava from the summit.

The rolling incandescent materials and advancing lava were accompanied by 314 tremor episodes recorded by the seismic network during the past observation period. This was significantly more than 111 tremor episodes recorded yesterday. No explosive quake has been recorded since 6 this morning.

The sulfur dioxide (S02) emission rate of the volcanic plume was measured at 1,513 tons a day yesterday compared with 2,211 on July 15. The increased seismic activity, relatively fast lava extrusion rate and high S02 reading indicated the heightened unrest of the volcano, which could lead to eruption.

Cedric Daep, chief of the Albay Provincial Public Safety and Management Office, told The Times that everything is ready once Mount Mayon blows up.

Daep is constantly meeting with the municipal disaster coordination officials in Albay to countercheck the group’s preparations.

Alert level 3 remains in effect at Mayon, which means that residents within the 8-kilometer-radius PDZ and just beyond the PDZ, especially in the southeast portion facing the Bonga gully, should be vigilant against explosive eruption since major hazards like rockfalls, lava flow and small rock avalanches all occur within these areas.

Residents near areas facing the Bonga gully in the southeast portion of the volcano and within 7 kilometers at the crater are advised to be prepared for evacuation.

Mayon Volcano continued to display restiveness as more lava came out of its summit.
--With Mark Ivan Roblas

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