MANILA, 12th June, 2023 (WAM) — The Philippines’ most active volcano began spewing lava and sulfuric gas Sunday, prompting the evacuation of nearly 13,000 residents in the southeast of the country’s main island, CNN reported.
Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) recommended everyone within a 6-kilometre (3.7-mile) radius or “danger zone” of the Mount Mayon volcano be evacuated due to the danger of rockfalls, landslides and ballistic fragments.
Since the alert level on the volcano was raised to 3 out of a possible 5 on Thursday, 88% of residents living in the danger zone have been evacuated, and efforts to relocate the rest are ongoing, the Philippine Provincial Information Office said.
Situated on Luzon Island, about 330 kilometres (205 miles) southeast of Manila, Mayon is one of the world’s most active volcanoes.
Phivolcs warned that a “hazardous eruption is possible within weeks or even days” after detecting a “relatively high level of unrest” at the volcano.
Within the past 24 hours, the Mayon Volcano Network recorded 21 weak volcanic earthquakes and 260 rockfalls, as well as lava flow activity from the crater, according to Phivolcs.
The agency also detected three pyroclastic density currents – hot, fast-moving flows of ash, hot gases and debris that rush down volcanic slopes – and warned of possible ashfall on the volcano's south side.