Mayon Volcano Erupts in Albay, Philippines; Alert Level 3 in Effect
Volcanologists told families to stay out of the 6-kilometer danger zone around the Philippines' most active volcano and warned of lava flows, pyroclastic currents and lahars.
See where this is ›ALBAY, Philippines —
Mayon Volcano in Albay province in the Philippines had a “moderately explosive eruption” shortly before noon Friday, Oct. 30, and the country's volcano agency, PHIVOLCS, said the volcano is under Alert Level 3, GMA News and Reuters reported.
See where this is ›GMA News, citing PHIVOLCS Mayon Volcano Eruption Notification No. 1, said the eruption began at 11:53 a.m. local time and was still going on in the agency's latest advisory. A grayish plume rose about 3,000 meters (nearly 10,000 feet) above the crater and drifted west-southwest. Gulf News reported that residents of Albay heard a loud boom around noon.
Alert Level 3 is the third of five levels. PHIVOLCS describes it as an “increased tendency towards a hazardous eruption,” with lava flows and dangerous explosions more likely in the coming days to weeks, according to GMA News and Reuters.
See where this is ›The agency told residents to stay outside the 6-kilometer (3.7-mile) Permanent Danger Zone around the crater because of lava flows, rockfalls and other hazards, and to watch for pyroclastic currents, lahars and sediment-laden streams. Pilots were told to avoid flying close to the summit.
Mayon, in the Bicol region about 500 kilometers from Manila, is the country's most active volcano, with more than 50 eruptions in the last four centuries, Reuters reported. Its most destructive eruption, in February 1814, buried a town under lava and killed 1,200 people.
What we don't know yet: Reports differ on whether Alert Level 3 was newly raised Friday, as Reuters and GMA News reported, or was already in effect, as Gulf News reported. Reports also differ slightly on the start time (11:53 a.m. per GMA News, about 11:47 a.m. per Gulf News). No figures on evacuations, ashfall or injuries from Friday's eruption had been published in the reports we reviewed.
