Mayon still swells with magma below

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January 26, 2018
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LEGAZPI City – Mayon volcano, which has been erupting for almost two weeks, still appears to be swelling with magma under the surface, scientists said on Thursday.

More than 74,000 people are staying in dozens of emergency shelters as Mayon continues to belch lava, ash and superheated gas and rocks.

Officials are worried the eruption may last months, affecting the education, health and livelihoods of people in its shadow.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said tremors, pyroclastic flows and emissions of sulfur dioxide were detected Wednesday and early Thursday.

Lava erupting up to 500 meters high was spilling down the slope, with one lava flow extending 3 kilometers from the crater.

Pyroclastic flows – superheated gas and volcanic debris that could incinerate anything in their path – reached 5 kilometers from the crater in one area, Phivolcs said.

Ash plumes still rising up to 5 kilometers high have spread ash onto farms and towns nearby, darkening the skies and forcing villagers to wear masks.

Phivolcs said GPS and other measurements indicated a sustained swelling or inflation of the mountain surface, which was consistent with magma rising and creating pressure.

The alert level remains four on a scale of five, indicating a violent eruption may be imminent.

There have been no reports of injuries but law enforcers have struggled to keep villagers and tourists from sneaking into the danger zone, which extends 8 kilometers from the crater.

“It’s a logistical nightmare,” Office of Civil Defense regional director Claudio Yucot said of the government’s effort to look after the still-swelling number of evacuees in at least 66 emergency shelters in nine cities and towns in Albay province.

Temporary learning centers will be set up in dozens of schools turned into evacuation centers to allow classes to continue, and farm animals will be brought to areas closer to their owners in evacuation camps to prevent more losses to villagers’ livelihoods, Yucot said.

Camalig town has already set up an area for rescued farm animals, he said.

Although Mayon has erupted about 50 times in the last 500 years, sometimes violently, it has remained popular among climbers and tourists.

In 2013, an ash eruption killed five climbers who had ventured near the summit despite warnings.

The Philippines has about 22 active volcanoes. The explosion of Mount Pinatubo in 1991 was one of the biggest volcanic eruptions of the 20th century, killing hundreds. (AP)
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