12-6-2023 (MANILA) Mayon Volcano, the Philippines’ most active volcano, has shown signs of increased volcanic activity, gently spewing lava down its slopes on Monday (Jun 12). This has prompted tens of thousands of people to prepare for a potential violent and life-threatening explosion and the need to quickly evacuate.
As volcanic activity escalated last week, more than 12,600 individuals have already left the predominantly impoverished farming communities located within a 6km radius of Mayon’s crater, following mandatory evacuations. However, there are still thousands of people residing within the permanent danger zone below the volcano. Despite it being declared off-limits, generations have lived and farmed there due to the lack of alternative options.
Teresito Bacolcol, director of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, stated that if the eruption intensifies, the high-risk zone around Mayon may be expanded. In such a scenario, people within the expanded danger zone should be prepared to evacuate to emergency shelters.
“We are currently observing an effusive eruption,” explained Bacolcol to The Associated Press. “We are monitoring the situation on a daily basis.”
Associated Press journalists, observing from a distance, witnessed the lava flow down the southeastern gullies of the volcano for several hours on Sunday night.
In Legazpi, the capital of northeastern Albay province situated approximately 14km from Mayon, people swiftly exited restaurants and bars as they captured images of the volcano’s picturesque conical shape. Legazpi is a seaside district and a popular tourist destination due to the volcano’s allure.
To expedite the distribution of disaster relief funds in the event of a major eruption, Albay was placed under a state of emergency on Friday.
The alert level for the volcano was raised to level three on a five-step system last Thursday, indicating a state of high unrest and the possibility of a hazardous eruption within weeks or days.
Despite the lava flow, which has been relatively gentle so far, Bacolcol stated that the alert level would remain at three. However, if the eruption becomes more perilous, it may be raised to a higher level.
Level five, the highest alert level, would signify a violent and life-threatening eruption, characterized by ash plumes shooting into the sky and superheated pyroclastic streams posing a danger to additional communities in the lush foothills of Mayon.
Mayon is one of the 24 active volcanoes in the Philippines. Its last violent eruption occurred in 2018, displacing tens of thousands of villagers. In 1814, the volcano’s eruption led to the burial of entire villages and reportedly claimed the lives of more than 1,000 people. Despite these periodic outbursts, many residents of Albay have come to accept the sporadic fury of the volcano as a part of their lives.
On Sunday morning, countless individuals jogged, cycled, and walked their dogs along a seaside promenade in Legazpi, with the 2,462m volcano hidden by thick clouds in the distance.
Some locals have prospered from the tourism industry that has developed around Mayon, as well as from the extraction of gravel, sand, and ornamental rocks and boulders abundant in the vicinity of the volcano.
Within the permanent danger zone, authorities and villagers have been relocating cows and water buffaloes from high-risk farms to temporary grazing areas situated at a safe distance away.
“It’s not just people that need to be brought to safety, but also their farm animals,” said Manny Victorino, the provincial veterinarian of Albay, in an interview with AP. Authorities have taken measures to minimize the potential economic impact in the event of a volcanic eruption. Deworming medicine, vitamins, and identifying tags have been provided to the livestock for better monitoring.
The evacuation of cattle highlights the broad range of potential threats posed by natural disasters in the Philippines. The archipelago experiences approximately 20 typhoons and tropical storms each year and is located within the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” an area encircling the Pacific Ocean characterized by numerous seismic faults and the occurrence of most of the world’s earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.
One of the most notable volcanic eruptions in the Philippines occurred in 1991 when Mount Pinatubo, situated north of Manila, erupted catastrophically, claiming hundreds of lives.
