MANILA – Experts from the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said they are poised to raise the alert level as Mayon Volcano in the Bicol Region showed increasing signs of an impending eruption.
Ed Laguerta, the resident Phivolcs volcanologist stationed in the capital city of Legazpi in Albay province, Bicol, noted that for the past 24 hours, they noted at least 15 volcanic earthquakes from the previous eight.
As a result, Laguesta pointed out they are prepared to increase the alert level from 2 to 3, which would entail the immediate evacuation of residents living within the six to seven-kilometer radius, or the “danger zone,†in the eastern slope of Mayon.
Records from the Albay Provincial Disaster Coordinating Council showed that close to 7,000 people, mostly farmers, are still within the danger zone located in the “barangay†(villages) of Legazpi as well as the towns of Guinobatan and Camalig and Tabaco City and Ligao City.
Mayon, described as the volcano with the “most perfect cone in the world,†has been showing increasing signs of restiveness through audible rumblings, earthquakes and a visible glow at the crater that can be seen by the naked eye especially at night.
Earlier, Laguesta expressed fear that with its present restiveness, this could lead to a hazardous eruption, or an explosion dominated by pyroclastic flows instead of the less life-threatening lava flows.
During Mayon’s eruption in 2006, Laguera said this was characterized by slow-moving lava flows.
But the present signs of abnormal behavior indicate these could result in the more dangerous pyroclastic flows with temperatures ranging from 300 to 1,000 degrees Celsius and travelling faster than lava, Laguerta warned.
He added the volcano’s present state resembled that in 1993 when pyroclastic flows killed at least 77 villagers who were trapped while tilling their farms at Mayon’s upper slope facing Legazpi City.
This developed as Albay Governor Joey Salceda assured that once Alert Level 3 is raised, mobilization of people and resources would immediately follow, especially on the aspect of providing food and evacuation centers to the affected residents.
“We have the provisions that could last for 30 days should Mayon Volcano erupt,†Salceda pointed out.
Moreover, a spokesman of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) said they have reactivated the so-called Mayon Disaster Preparedness Team to cope with any eventuality in the region.
The team is composed of maintenance crew, medical personnel, deployment service vehicles and dump trucks for emergency evacuation which will be working round-the-clock if the volcano erupts, the spokesman said.
In addition, the spokesman said they already identified alternate routes that can be used for evacuation and transport of relief goods in case of an eruption.
He explained that to assure the continuous flow of traffic, bailey panel bridge components have been made available and could immediately be assembled and deployed if a bridge is damaged by the flow of volcanic debris along the various river channels.
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