Mayon Volcano at night (ABS-CBN photo courtesy)
Mayon Volcano remains in a state of lava emission, characterized as “gentle and tranquil,” even as close to three months have passed since its initial eruption, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said Friday.
Dr. Teresito “Toto” Bacolcol compared the ongoing seismic activity of Mayon to its 2014 effusive eruption, which also endured for a three-month span before subsiding. Bacolcol emphasized that determining whether to revise the alert level would hinge on specific parameters and the prevailing conditions of the volcano.
He explained, “Should Mayon continue emitting lava beyond the three-month mark, the possibility of reducing the alert level from Level 3 to 2 would be improbable.”
The head of Phivolcs stressed that even if the alert level were downgraded, the firm advice remains against entering the permanent danger zone (PDZ) within a radius of six kilometers.
“Even under Alert Level 0, the PDZ should remain devoid of any residents,” he appended.
Over the past 24 hours, Bacolcol observed a gradual discharge of lava from Mayon’s summit crater, feeding into the established lava flows in the Bonga (southeastern), Mi-isi (southern), and Basud (eastern) gullies.
“The lava flows have sustained their respective progressions, extending approximately 3.4 kilometers, 2.8 kilometers, and 1.1 kilometers from the crater,” he detailed.
The monitoring also recorded a total of 62 volcanic earthquakes, 123 instances of rock falls, and one occurrence of pyroclastic density current. Concurrently, sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions were quantified at 3,295 tons. (ai/mnm)
