Lava flow, volcanic quakes, rockfall events observed in Mayon Volcano

Mayon Volcano in Albay continued to show intensified unrest in the past 24 hours, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) said on Saturday.

From 5 a.m. Friday to 5 a.m. Saturday, the agency said Mayon Volcano had "very slow effusion of lava flow" which ran to as much as 1.5 kilometers.

There was also lava collapse seen on Mi-isi and Bonga Gullies which are located 3.3 kilometers from the crater, PHIVOLCS added in its bulletin.

Two volcanic earthquakes, 280 rockfall events, and nine pyroclastic density current events were also recorded in the past 24 hours.

A total of 978 tons of sulfur dioxide were emitted on Friday.

Meanwhile, moderate plumes rising up to 100 meters tall were seen, and these drifted west generally.

The volcano edifice remains inflated, PHIVOLCS added.

Alert Level 3 (Intensified Unrest/Magmatic Unrest) remains in effect in Mayon Volcano, the agency added.

"Sa ngayon, wala kaming makitang indikasyon na dapat mag-raise ng higher alert level, Alert Level 4... Ang importante, wala nang tao dun sa pinakadelikadong lugar, du'n sa 6 km permanent danger zone," Mayon Volcano Observatory resident volcanologist Dr. Paul Alanis said in an interview on Super Radyo dzBB on Saturday.

(For now, we don't see any indication that there is a need to raise the alert level to 4. What's important is that there are no people in the most dangerous zone, the six-kilometer permanent danger zone.)

"Relatively quiet ang eruption natin... Mukhang magtatagal itong ganito... We have to prepare na medyo matatagalan itong [pag-aalboroto ng Bulkang Mayon]," Alanis said.

(The eruption is relatively quiet. It seems like the unrest will continue for a longer time. We have to prepare for a long unrest.)

PHIVOLCS reiterated that entry into the six-kilometer radius permanent danger zone and flying aircraft close to the volcano are prohibited.

Hazards such as rockfalls or landslides or avalanches, ballistic fragments, lava flows and lava fountaining, pyroclastic density currents, moderate-sized explosions, and lahars during heavy and prolonged rainfall.

Almost 20,000 residents have been evacuated as Mayon Volcano remains under Alert Level 3, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council announced Friday. 

The Department of Trade and Industry meanwhile has imposed a price freeze on basic goods in Albay as the province was placed under a state of calamity due to Mayon Volcano's unrest. —KG, GMA Integrated News