Global Courant
ANKARA
The Philippines national seismological agency said it cannot rule out the possibility of a “dangerous and explosive” eruption of Mayon volcano as it continues to spew lava and sulfuric gas.
President of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs), Dr. Teresito Bacolcol said these activities reflected “what’s going on in the air”, local British newspaper The Manila Times reported on Sunday.
At least three volcanic earthquakes and 11 pyroclastic density currents (PDCs) were recorded from 5 a.m. to 5 a.m. (local time) on Sunday, June 17, according to Bacolcol.
So far, the current parameters still reflect what’s going on, but the possibility of an explosive eruption still exists, he warned.
The newspaper quoted a report from the Mayon Volcano Network, “As lava flows reached a maximum length of 1,500 meters (1.5 kilometers) from the summit crater, collapse debris accumulated up to 3,300 meters (3.3 kilometers) from the crater.”
Continuous moderate outgassing from the summit crater produced steam-laden plumes that rose 100 meters (328 feet).
Phivolc said Alert Level 3 is underway, which means the raging volcano is at high levels of unrest and a dangerous eruption is possible.
Mount Mayon, the picturesque but most active volcano in the Philippines, started spewing lava last Sunday.
Thousands of people have been placed in evacuation centers in Albay province on the northeastern Bicol peninsula over the past week as lava flows and volcanic earthquakes continue.
Volcanologists in the Southeast Asian country cautioned Mayon to warn the third level on a five-point scale, meaning “a relatively high level of unrest and an increased likelihood of a dangerous eruption within weeks or even days because the magma is in the crater.”
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