Philippines evacuates 3,000 people after activity increases at Mayon Volcano
Philippines evacuates 3,000 people after activity increases at Mayon Volcano
In this photo provided by the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismologylava flows from the crater of the Mayon volcano as alert level 3 remains raised in Albay provincenorth eastern Philippines on Wednesday Jan. 72026. (Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology via AP)
In this photo provided by the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismologylava flows from the crater of the Mayon volcano as alert level 3 remains raised in Albay provincenorth eastern Philippines on Wednesday Jan. 72026. (Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology via AP)
In this photo provided by the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismologylava flows from the crater of the Mayon volcano as alert level 3 remains raised in Albay provincenorth eastern Philippines on Wednesday Jan. 72026. (Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology via AP)
MANILAPhilippines (AP) — A series of mild eruptions at the most active volcano in the Philippines has prompted the evacuation of nearly 3,000 villagers from a danger zone on its foothillsofficials said Wednesday.
Authorities raised the 5-step alert around Mayon Volcano in the northeastern province of Albay to level 3 on Tuesday after detecting intermittent rockfallssome as big as carsfrom its peak crater in recent days along with deadly pyroclastic flows — a fast-moving avalanche of super-hot rock fragmentsash and gas.
Alert level 5 would indicate that a major explosive eruptionoften with violent ejections of ash and debris and widespread ashfallis underway.
“This is already an eruptiona quiet onewith lava accumulating up the peak and swelling the domewhich cracked in some parts and resulted in rockfallssome as big as cars,” Teresito Bacolcolthe country’s chief volcanologisttold The Associated Press.
He said it is too early to tell if Mayon’s restiveness would worsen and lead to a major and violent eruption given the absence of other key signs of unrestlike a spike in volcanic earthquakes and high levels of sulfur dioxide emissions.
Troopspolice and disaster-mitigation personnel helped evacuate more than 2,800 villagers from 729 households inside a 6-kilometer (3.7-mile) radius from the volcano’s crater that officials have long designated a permanent danger zonedemarcated by concrete warning signsAlbay provincial officials said.
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Another 600 villagers living outside the permanent danger zone have evacuated voluntarily to government-run emergency shelters to be safely away from the volcanoClaudio Yucotregional director of the Office of Civil Defensesaid.
Entry to the permanent danger zone in the volcano’s foothills is prohibitedbut thousands of villagers have flouted the restrictions and made it their home or maintained farms on and off for generations. Lucrative businessessuch as sand and gravel quarrying and sightseeing tourshave also thrived openly despite the ban and the mountain’s frequent eruptions — now 54 times since records began in 1616.
The 2,462-meter (8,007-foot) volcano is one of the Philippines’ top tourism draws because of its near-perfect cone shape. But it’s also the most active of the country’s 24 restive volcanoes.
A terrifying symbol of Mayon’s deadly fury is the belfry of a 16th-century Franciscan stone church which protrudes from the ground in Albay. It’s all that’s left of a baroque church that was buried by volcanic mudflow along with the town of Cagsawa in an 1814 eruption which killed about 1,200 peopleincluding many who sought refuge in the churchabout 13 kilometers (8 miles) from the volcano.
The thousands of people who live within Mayon’s danger zone reflect the plight of many impoverished Filipinos who are forced to live in dangerous places across the archipelago — near active volcanoes like Mayonon landslide-prone mountainsidesalong vulnerable coastlinesatop earthquake fault linesand in low-lying villages often engulfed by flash floods.
Each yearabout 20 typhoons and storms batter the Philippineswhich lies along the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” an arc of fault lines along the Pacific Ocean basin often hit by volcanic eruptions and earthquakes.