Mayon volcano
After days of a generally restive behavior, Mayon Volcano again emitted lava and ash on Friday morning, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said.
The agency recorded a lava collapse from 10:39 a.m. to 10:50 a.m.
"The emission may be due to the lava build-up which may have been triggered by possible rainfall in the area," Phivolcs project research officer Jerome de Lima said.
Minimal ash fall was also recorded in the towns of Camalig and Anoling.
De Lima said alert level would not be lowered unless volcano activity ceased.
"We are still actively monitoring Mayon's behavior. We are not yet considering a possible decline in the alert level anytime soon," he added.On March 5, Phivolcs downgraded the alert level to 3 because of "general decline in unrest" of the volcano.
Alert Level 3 indicates a decreased tendency toward a hazardous eruption.
The agency first detected a volcanic eruption on January 13 and raised Mayon's status to Alert Level 4 on January 22 that meant a hazardous eruption was imminent.
Comment: An update on the 25th of March from the
The Philippine Star: Mayon lahar threat: 80,000 face evacuation :
More than 80,000 residents around Mayon Volcano may be evacuated due to the threat of lahar, according to the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) in Bicol.
In a report yesterday, the OCD-Bicol said 25 to 30 milimeters of rain for three hours could mobilize newly extruded volcanic materials while three hours of torrential rains could push old volcanic debris.
OCD-Bicol operations officer Jsar Adornado said more than 25,000 residents of this city face evacuation; 22,556 from Daraga; 8,353 from Tabaco and Camalig, and 5,847 from Guinobatan and Malilipot.
Residents of Sto. Domingo, Ligao and Bacacay are also at risk due to lahar.
Adornado said lahar deposits are in the gullies in Barangay Basud in Sto. Domingo, Quirangay in Camalig and the Sto. Domingo-Legazpi-Daraga-Camalig stretch of the volcano.
Phivolcs resident volcanologist Ed Laguerta said Mayon had extruded around 65 million cubic meters of volcanic materials, of which 13 million cubic meters are potential lahar sediments.
Weather forecaster Michael Francisco said a low-pressure area spotted off Mindanao could develop into a tropical depression and bring rains when it is near the Bicol region on Tuesday.
Cedric Daep, chief of the Albay Public Safety and Emergency Management Office, said they would issue a lahar advisory depending on the distance and strength of the tropical depression.
"It is not safe yet to make predictions on the impact of this low-pressure area...at this time that it is still outside the (Philippine area of responsibility)," Daep said.
In its latest bulletin, Phivolcs said active river channels and those perennially identified as lahar-prone areas should be avoided during bad weather or when there is heavy and prolonged rainfall.
Mayon remains under Alert Level 3. This means that although the volcano's unrest continues, there is a decreased likelihood of hazardous explosive eruption.
Comment: An update on the 25th of March from the The Philippine Star: Mayon lahar threat: 80,000 face evacuation :