Mayon Volcano status raised to Alert Level 2
DUE to Mayon Volcano increasing unrest, the Philippine Institue of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) raised the status of Mayon Volcano in Albay to Alert Level 2 on Friday.
Phivolcs said the raising of the alert level means “there is current unrest driven by shallow magmatic processes that could eventually lead to phreatic eruptions or even precede hazardous magmatic eruption.”
Phreatic eruptions are steam-driven explosions. In magmatic eruptions, lava or tephra is ejected from a magma source within the earth.Phivolcs advised the public to be vigilant and refrain from entering the six kilometer-radius Permanent Danger Zone to minimize the risks from sudden explosions, rock fall, and landslides.
“In case of ash fall events that may affect communities downwind of Mayon’s crater, people should cover their nose with damp, clean cloth or dust mask,” it said.
Pilots are also advised to avoid flying close to the summit as ash from any sudden eruption can be hazardous to aircraft.
According to Phivolcs, inspection of the summit crater conducted Friday morning confirmed the presence of freshly extruded lava at the base of the summit lava dome.
“The event was signaled only by observation of thin remobilized light-colored ash, likely derived from lava fragmentation during the extrusion process, on the floor of the Miisi Gully since 2 October 2022,” it said.
