PHIVOLCS: Mayon Volcano’s daily sulfur dioxide emission up to 1,582 tonnes

The daily emission of sulfur dioxide from Mayon Volcano further increased from 1,128 tonnes on Tuesday to 1,582 on Wednesday, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) said Thursday.

In its latest bulletin, PHIVOLCS said the number of pyroclastic density current (PDC) events observed in the volcano also increased from eight on Wednesday to 10 on Thursday.

Three volcanic earthquakes and 286 rockfall events were recorded in the volcano in the past 24 hours, according to PHIVOLCS.

“Alert Level 3 is maintained over Mayon Volcano, which means that it is currently in a relatively high level of unrest as magma is at the crater and hazardous eruption within weeks or even days is possible,” the state volcanologists said.

“It is therefore recommended that the 6-km radius Permanent Danger Zone (PDZ) be evacuated due to the danger of PDCs, lava flows, rockfalls and other volcanic hazards,” they added.

PHIVOLCS said very slow effusion of lava flows from the crater was observed along Mi-isi gully extending up to 2.8 kilometers and along Bonga gully extending up to 1.4 kilometers.

Lava collapse was also seen along Basud gully extending up to 4 kilometers from the crater, PHIVOLCS said.

A moderate emission of plumes was observed from the volcano reaching up to 500 meters and drifting to the general west and east-southeast directions.

PHIVOLCS warned that heavy rainfall could generate channel-confined lahars and sediment-laden streamflows in channels where PDC deposits are emplaced.

“Increased vigilance against pyroclastic density currents, lahars and sediment-laden streamflows along channels draining the edifice is also advised,” PHIVOLCS said.

It added that pilots should avoid flying close to the volcano’s summit as ash from any sudden eruption can be hazardous to the aircraft.

Based on the current prevailing wind pattern, PHIVOLCS said ash fall events may most likely occur on the south side of Mayon Volcano.

Alert Level 3 in Mayon Volcano was raised on June 8 after three PDC events were observed on the Bonga and Basud gullies of the volcano.

Affected populace

A total of 38,376 people or 9,867 families in 26 barangays in Bicol have been affected by Mayon's activity, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) on Thursday.

Of the affected population, 18,828 individuals or 5,393 families are staying in 27 evacuation centers, while 1,431 individuals or 409 families are taking shelter in other places.

A total of 1,120 livestock animals were also preemptively evacuated, NDRRMC said. Eighteen cities and municipalities were put under state of calamity due to the activities of Mayon Volcano.

Assistance worth P160,440,851 has been provided to the affected residents, the NDRRMC also said. —Joviland Rita/KBK, GMA Integrated News