Mt. Mayon Spews Ash Clouds

LEGAZPI CITY (Nov 12) - Mt. Mayon on Thursday laid low after billowing into air three times on Wednesday, which enveloped nine villages in the second and third districts of Albay.

But local disaster officials are readying mitigating measures in case a full-blown eruptions takes place.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) in Albay said that the volcano disgorged ash clouds three times on Tuesday, it had its first ash explosion at 1:58 a.m. Wednesday and then followed by two more minor ash puffing at 7:02 a.m. and 12:20 p.m.

Phivolcs volcanologist said the first explosion produced light brownish steamclouds associated with minimal amount of ash materials that rose to a height of about 300 meters that drifted west-southwest of the province.

Surface manifestation of the second explosion was not clearly visible due to cloud-covered summit. Both events were not reflected on the seismic record, volcanologist said.

The institute seismic monitoring detected seven volcanic earthquakes during the past 24 hours, which is a low number compared to previous days.

Steaming activity varied from weak to moderate, with white steam clouds that drifted to west-southwest and west- northwest.

Crater glow Wednesday night was observed at Intensity II (visible to the naked eye).

While sulfur dioxide (SO2) emission rate yielded an increasing value of 510 ton per day (t/d) compared to the 50 tons recorded on Monday.

As this developed, Albay Gov. Joey Salceda, Provincial Disaster Coordinating Council (PDCC) chairman, directed all town and city disaster councils surrounding the slopes of Mayon volcano to closely monitor and report local situation related to the volcano's activity to the PDCC and Phivolcs.

The specific directive was referred to the towns in the southeast and southwest of Mayon which include the towns of Sto Domingo, Camalig, Guinobatan, Daraga, and the cities of Ligao and Legazpi.

As a disaster preparedness measure, the PDCC has distributed megaphones and wireless radio communication equipments, bikes, transistor radios to hundred of villages affected by the impending eruption, and has prepositioned 35 military trucks, nine ambulances in various affected towns for evacuation purposes in case Phivolcs decides to raise the volcano's alert level to three.

He directed the police and military authorities manning the 12 checkpoints surrounding the volcano's designated danger zone to make this area as a "no mans" land.

He directed the provincial social welfare office to preposition food items for possible preemptive evacuation once the volcano condition worsens and its alert level is raised by Phivolcs.

Under Alert level 3, the PDCC is expected to evacuate some 7,946 families or 40,000 families while under Alert Level 4, some 26,178 families or 130,890 people have to be move out to various evacuation camps across the province.

In a worst case scenario, 26,178 families or 120,143 people living in high risk zone (6-km to 10km danger zone) in 56 villages around the 2,450 meters high volcano have to be evacuated.

Mayon Volcano alert status remains at Alert Level 2. This means a state of unrest which could lead to more ash explosion or eventually to hazardous magmatic eruption.

Philvocs strongly recommended that the 6-km radius Permanent Danger Zone (PDZ) around the volcano and the 7-km Extended Danger Zone (EDZ) on the southeast flank of the volcano are off-limits due to the threat from sudden explosions and rockfalls from the upper slope.

Active river channels and those areas perennially identified as lahar prone in the southeast sector should also be avoided especially during bad weather condition or when there is heavy and prolonged rainfall.(PNA)