Vulkaan Mayon op de Filipijnen staat op springen

quote:

Phivolcs notes 3 minor ash explosions at Mayon

More At least three minor ash explosions were recorded at Mayon Volcano in Bicol early Tuesday, prompting authorities to appeal anew to the public to stay away from the volcano's danger zones.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said the three minor ash explosions were recorded at 5:37 a.m.

"These events lasted for about three minutes. The explosions produced a brownish ash column that rose about 700 meters above the crater and drifted to the southwest," it said in its advisory.

On the other hand, Phivolcs said a "faint crater glow" was observed Monday night.

Radio dzXL reported Tuesday noon that the Phivolcs has started coordinating with the Albay Public Safety and Disaster Management Office to prepare for possible evacuation of residents.

The Phivolcs said that in the last 24 hours, the seismic network recorded 11 volcanic earthquakes.

quote:

Vulkaan Mayon op Filipijnen weer actief
De Mayon-vulkaan op de Filipijnen heeft as in de lucht geslingerd. De asregen kwam neer op verschillende dorpen aan de voet van de 2.472 meter hoge vulkaan, 375 kilometer ten zuidoosten van Manilla. Het vulkaaninstituut waarschuwde voor een mogelijke uitbarsting en riep de bewoners op ver van de krater weg te blijven.

De Mayon is de laatste 400 jaar een vijftigtal keer uitgebarsten. In 1814 kwamen op de hellingen 1.200 mensen om het leven. Bij een uitbarsting in 1993 stierven 79 mensen. Toen de vulkaan in 2006 actief werd, moesten 30.000 mensen in veiligheid gebracht worden.

quote:

LEGAZPI CITY, Philippines – After spewing ash at least thrice last Wednesday, Mayon Volcano emitted a crater glow that grew more intense and was visible as far as 15 kilometers away the other night.

Mayon volcano, Philippines emitted 973 tons of sulphur dioxide yesterday, compared to 500 tons average

quote:

Filipijnen op de vlucht voor vulkaan Mayon

Ruim 50.000 Filipijnen die rondom de vulkaan Mayon wonen, moeten hun huizen zo snel mogelijk verlaten. De vulkaan, een van de meest actieve in het Aziatische land, stoot lava en as uit. De mogelijkheid bestaat dat hij in de komende weken uitbarst.

Inmiddels zijn ruim tienduizend mensen in de centrale provincie Albay geëvacueerd, laten officiële bronnen dinsdag weten. In totaal moeten inwoners van zes dorpen die in een straal van zes kilometer rondom de Mayon wonen, vertrekken.

De activiteit van de 2500 meter hoge vulkaan neemt toe, meldden wetenschappers. Het waarschuwingsniveau is dinsdag opgevoerd van twee naar drie, op een schaal waarop vijf het gevaarlijkst is.

De Mayon is in de afgelopen vierhonderd jaar ongeveer vijftig keer uitgebarsten. In 1814 begroef hij een complete stad, waardoor twaalfhonderd mensen het leven verloren.

quote:

Lava aan de rand van ontwaakte vulkaan Mayon

De vulkaan Mayon op de Filipijnen heeft dinsdag asse in de lucht geslingerd en tienduizenden mensen op de vlucht gejaagd. Aan de kraterrand is al opborrelende lava gezien, aldus de vulkanologische dienst. Ze waarschuwde voor een enorme uitbarsting, die aan de zuidoostelijke flank gevaarlijke lavastromen kan veroorzaken. Boven de ruim 2400 meter hoge berg hangt volgens ooggetuigen een dikke rookpluim.

De autoriteiten hadden maandag de ontruiming van verschillende dorpen aan de voet van de vulkaan 360 kilometer ten zuiden van Manilla bevolen. Bijna 12.000 mensen werden al in noodverblijven ondergebracht, aldus een woordvoerder van de regionale civiele bescherming. De autoriteiten willen nog eens 35.000 omwonenden in veiligheid brengen.

quote:

Op dinsdag 15 december 2009 14:27 schreef Basp1 het volgende:

[..]

Nou hoeveel ton stoot dan zo'n vulkaan uit bij een flinke uitbarsting?

quote:

Vulkanen spuwen jaarlijks meer dan 130 miljoen ton CO2 in de atmosfeer. Dit kleurloze, reukloze gas vormt meestal geen rechtstreeks gevaar voor het leven omdat het snel verdund wordt tot normale concentraties, ongeacht of het nu continu uit de bodem opwelt of tijdens periodieke uitbarstingen. Maar in sommige omstandigheden kan CO2 geconcentreerd worden tot waarden die wel dodelijk zijn voor mensen en dieren. Kooldioxide-gas is zwaarder dan lucht, en het gas kan laaggelegen gebieden instromen. Het inademen van lucht met meer dan 30% CO2 kan bewusteloosheid en de dood veroorzaken

Menselijke activiteiten zoals het verbranden van fossiele brandstof, de productie van cement en het fakkelen tijdens het raffineren van petroleum, brengen jaarlijks ongeveer 24 miljard ton CO2 in de atmosfeer - meer dan 150 keer dan wat vulkanen de atmosfeer insturen

quote:

Lava flow continues
LEGASPI, Philippines : Lava poured down the Philippines' Mayon volcano Wednesday as experts warned it could erupt for months, meaning thousands of villagers will spend Christmas in crowded evacuation centres.

Five small explosions were detected from Mayon on Wednesday morning, the last of which shot ash 500 metres (1,640 feet) into the air, government volcanologist July Sabit told AFP.

"Lava flow and lava fragments rolling down the volcano are continuous," Sabit said.

"It is part of the eruptive activity of the volcano. There is a high probability it will be like this for months."

Sabit cited Mayon's last eruption in 2006, when it emitted ash and oozed lava for two months.

The eruptions of 2006 did not claim any lives, but left huge deposits of volcanic ash on Mayon's slopes.

When Typhoon Durian hit the same area in December 2006, it caused a landslide of volcanic ash that killed more than 1,000 people.

The government has already evacuated about 23,000 people living in farming villages near the foot of Mayon and hopes to evacuate another 20,000 this week.

Most of the evacuation centres are at government schools, where classes have been called off.

Raffy Valenzuela, the civil defence chief for Albay province, where Mayon is located, said the makeshift camps were not yet up to standard.

"Some (schoolhouses) don't have sufficient bathrooms, others have... no running water. We are still fixing these things because this evacuation has been very sudden," he said.

Chief volcanologist Renato Solidum said that in the "worst-case scenario" of a major eruption, the government might have to evacuate another 15,000 families, or roughly 75,000 people.

Military trucks and even heavy trucks intended for construction projects are being used to evacuate the residents, Solidum said.

The government is ready to forcibly evacuate all villagers within the danger zone but there has been no resistance so far, he added.

The Mayon threat has come at a particularly inconvenient time of the year for the evacuees as they, like most of the other 92 million people in the predominantly Christian country, prepare for Christmas celebrations.

Defence Secretary Norberto Gonzales, who is in charge of disaster preparations, conducted an aerial survey of the volcano using a military helicopter on Wednesday.

He promised to distribute thousands of face masks to villagers to protect them from the effects of any volcanic ashfall.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology raised the alert level for Mayon to three on Monday after lava was seen spewing from the crater, and evacuations began immediately.

Level three on the five-point scale means a hazardous eruption is likely in the very near future.

quote:

Op woensdag 16 december 2009 12:31 schreef kahaarin het volgende:

[..]

Wat ik dan wel raar vind, ze hebben al de 8 km zone van lvl 4 aangehouden, als je de beschrijving leest dan lijkt het ook wel een lvl 4 te zijn maar er wordt maar een lvl 3 gegeven, snap jij dat? (Mayon alert lvls in een eerdere post van mij gezien dan. )

quote:

Vulkaan Mayon spuwt opnieuw as uit

De vulkaan Mayon op de Filipijnen heeft woensdag opnieuw grote hoeveelheden as uitgespuwd en de mensen in zijn omgeving weer de daver op het lijf gejaagd. Volgens de autoriteiten werd de as bij een van de uitbarstingen tot 500 meter hoog gespuwd. Acht tektonische bevingen hebben de vuurberg op 360 kilometer ten zuidoosten van de hoofdstad Manilla sinds dinsdagnacht door elkaar geschud. Vanuit de krater op de 2400 meter hoge vulkaan is de lava al 800 meter naar beneden gestroomd.

"De tektonische bevingen maken duidelijk dat het magma in de krater stijgt", luidt het in de mededeling van de dienst voor vulkanologie en seismologie. Indien deze trend aanhoudt, is een gevaarlijke uitbarsting binnen enkele weken mogelijk. Volgens de gouverneur van de provincie Albay zijn al 22.000 mensen uit de omgeving van de vulkaan weggevlucht. Duizenden anderen worden in de komende dagen in veiligheid gebracht. "Ik heb een gepaste bevoorrading met levensmiddelen voor de vluchtelingen bevolen", aldus gouverneur Joey Salceda. "Ze moeten Kerstmis en Nieuwjaar immers in noodverblijven doorbrengen".

quote:

Large scale eruption imminent
CNN) -- More than 30,000 people have fled their homes ahead of an expected eruption of the Mayon volcano in the central Philippines, the Red Cross said Wednesday.

Philippine authorities have said a large-scale eruption of the 2,464-meter (8,077-foot) peak is imminent, and have begun trying to evacuate about 50,000 people living around the nation's most active volcano.

Gwendolyn Pang, the secretary-general of the Philippine Red Cross, said the ground around the mountain shook several times Wednesday. Emergency workers have so far evacuated 30,751 people, with 21 centers set up to take in the evacuees, she said.

People in surrounding Albay province have flocked to town centers to catch a glimpse of glowing lava cascading down the slopes of Mayon since the mountain began oozing fiery lava and belching clouds of ash this week.

quote:

Manila, Philippines

Philippine authorities were struggling Thursday to finish moving nearly 50,000 people to safety as the Mount Mayon volcano in the east of the country gave more warnings that it was about to erupt, local officials said.

However, many of those in danger refused to budge, officials said.

Authorities are determined to prevent any casualties if Mayon, the most active of the Philippines's 22 volcanoes, erupts. The central and local governments are quietly hoping to avoid a debacle similar to that in and around Manila in September and October, when a series of tropical storms and typhoons brought torrential rain.

Metro Manila's storm drains, many clogged with trash and overburdened in a city that has more than doubled in population in the past 30 years, to over 11 million people today, couldn't handle the downpours. Millions of Manila's residents live in shanty towns along river banks and flood canals and the resulting flooding and landslides killed at least 990 people and disrupted the lives of some 10 million. The disaster exposed shortcomings in the preparedness of the government and victims alike and an outpouring of national anger.

There may be bigger tests of disaster preparedness in the weeks to come if the current activity at Mayon builds towards a major eruption.

The government of Albay, the province some 200 miles southeast of Manila where Mayon is situated, ordered the evacuation of the danger zone, a mostly agricultural area, on Monday. By the middle of Thursday local time, military trucks had helped move at least 32,000 people to evacuation centers in schools and other buildings.

Authorities have also imposed a ban on anyone entering a 5-mile zone around Mayon.

The evacuation plan has been put to the test: When the volcano last erupted, in 2006, 30,000 people were moved to safety and no lives were lost. The approach drew on lessons from a 1993 eruption, which killed at least 77 people. Most of those who perished had refused to leave the danger zone, preferring to stay and protect their crops, livestock, and other possessions from looters.

The reluctance of some residents to leave the danger zone remains a problem this time round. The head of the Albay Public Safety and Emergency Management Office, Cedric Daep, said some residents had refused to leave, but that they would be forced to comply with instructions to move out.

The unpredictability of the volcano means the refugees could remain in the centers for weeks. But the provincial chief of police, Senior Superintendent William Macavinta, has said the evacuation centers have enough food and water for only 18 days.

Local news media have reported that some centers lack adequate sanitation, presenting potential health risks for people living cheek-by-jowl.
Provincial Gov. Joey Salceda has said that he is prepared to ask for international aid, if necessary.

If the expected eruption turns out to be a big one, about 75,000 more people will have to be moved to safety, according to the local authorities, putting even further strain on the relief effort.

Even if Mayon erupts again without immediate loss of life, danger may persist. After the 2006 eruption, people returned to their homes around the volcano. A typhoon then dislodged tons of volcanic debris deposited on the slopes, causing landslides that killed an estimated 1,000 residents

quote:

Mayon alertlevel may be raised to level 4

LEGAZPI CITY – Scientists at the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology are considering raising the alert level status of Mayon volcano from 3 to 4 as a major eruption might occur in the next few days, local authorities confirmed Friday.

Volcanologist July Sabit said the volcano might be nearing a violent eruption which could happen from three days to a week,

“Alert Level 3 remain hoisted over Mayon Volcano but parameters are already at the ceiling, which means alert level 4 might be declared any time – hours into days period,” said Albay Governor Joey Salceda.

Sabit said that during the past 24 hours, the seismic network recorded 248 volcanic quakes and tremors, 50 of these were explosion type but only 7 were observed during times of good visibility.

“These explosions produced dark gray to dark brown ash columns that reached a maximum height of up to one kilometer above the summit before drifting southwest,” Sabit said.

Sulfur dioxide emission rate was still high at 1,065 tons per day during the 24-hour period, he added.

During the cloud break on Friday morning the steaming activity ranged from dirty white to light brown in color while night observation showed an intensified crater glow.

Sabit said the advancing lava flow reached approximately 3 kilometers downslope from the crater while incandescent fragments from the lava pile had continuously rolled down along Bonga Gully reaching about three to four kilometers downslope.

“Since an increasing trend is noticeable at present, the possibility of a hazardous volcanic eruption is high,” explained science research analyst Alex Baloloy, who quoted the bulletin released by the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology.

Asked about the relationship of the coming full moon with the impending explosive eruption, Baloloy said that in the history of Mayon, it really does not follow a real pattern but several explosive eruptions have happened during or before the full moon.

Phivolcs recommended that the six-km radius Permanent Danger Zone around the volcano and the seven-km Extended Danger Zone on the southeast flank of the volcano should be free from human activity because of sudden explosions that may generate hazardous volcanic flows.

In addition, areas in the south outside the seven-km danger zone but within eight km of the crater should be extra alert for increased volcanic activity.

quote:

Op vrijdag 18 december 2009 09:15 schreef Symphonic het volgende:
Het is niet te hopen dat we weer ergens een tsunami krijgen rond de kerst. Ik heb toevallig gisteren de beelden gezien van 5 jaar geleden en weer was ik zwaar onder de indruk.

quote:

Op vrijdag 18 december 2009 09:49 schreef Jumparound het volgende:

[..]

Las Palmas als ik me niet vergis.
Als die vulkaan eindelijk omvalt overstroomt heel de oostkust van de US

quote:

Hazardous eruption imminent
MANILA (Reuters) - Philippine troops evacuated about 12,000 people from villages at the base of the country's most active volcano as it showed signs of a major eruption, officials said on Friday.

A state of calamity has been declared in eight cities and towns around Mayon Volcano, famed for its near-perfect cone shape in a coconut-growing region of the central Philippines, and a 6-8 km (4-5 mile) no-go zone has been imposed.

A 24-hour curfew was also imposed to stop people from going back to their homes and farms as Mayon showed signs of a violent eruption in three days to a week, July Sabit, a vulcanologist, told reporters.

Sabit said 246 volcanic tremors had been recorded during the last 24 hours. Mayon continued to spew ash and steam, and boiling mud and rocks flowed from the crater summit 3 km (2 miles) down its southeastern slope.

"Since an increasing trend is noticeable at present, the possibility of hazardous volcanic eruption is high," the state's chief vulcanologist Renato Solidum, told reporters.

He said two major ash and steam explosions were recorded on Friday, one shooting up as much as 2 km .

Officials raised Mayon's alert to level 3 on Monday, meaning sudden hazardous explosions were likely.

"Alert level 3 remained hoisted over Mayon Volcano but the parameters are already at the ceiling, which means alert level 4 might be declared any time," Joey Salceda, provincial governor, told a television interview on Friday.

Level 4 means an eruption is imminent while Level 5 means an eruption is in progress.

quote:

Eruption in 3 to 7 days

Manila: More lava flowed out of the crater of a restive volcano in the eastern Philippines Saturday, a sign of intensifying activity, government volcanologists said.

According to reports, farmers have started returning to the foothills of Mayon, the country's most active volcano, despite the increasing flow of lava from the mountain.

The volcano continued to spew out fountains of ash into the sky amid a series of minor eruptions, heightening concerns that a major explosion could occur at any time. Tremors in the volcano also increased due to the enormous pressure of the ever-increasing amount of lava on its slopes.

The increasing tempo and force of volcanic activity as well as the reports farmers are returning to their farmlands has also forced the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) to recommend increasing the perimeter of the so-called no man's land around the volcano.

Alert

"Since persistent high unrest is evident at present, the possibility of hazardous volcanic eruption is high. Thus, Phivolcs recommends that the six-kilometre radius Permanent Danger Zone around the volcano and the 7km Extended Danger Zone on the southeast flank of the volcano should be free from human activity because of sudden explosions that may generate hazardous volcanic flows. In addition, areas in the south that are outside the seven kilometre danger zone but within eight kilometres of the crater should be extra alert for increased volcanic activity," a Phivolcs bulletin issued yesterday said.

Renato Solidum, head of Phivolcs said his agency is on alert for a possible hazardous eruption of the Mayon Volcano in Albay province, 360 kilometres south of Manila.

The institute said it recorded 197 earthquakes and 15 ash explosions overnight Saturday.

Phivolcs on Friday said it was considering raising alert level 4 over Albay at any time since the volcano might have a violent eruption within the next three to seven days.

"The important thing is that people should not be in those danger zones when a hazardous explosion happens," Solidum said.

The area in the danger zone at the foothills of Mount Mayon is a fertile area for growing vegetables and rearing livestock and many people from the evacuated villages were reported to be disobeying the government imposed restrictions and are creeping back to look after their crops and animals.

In the meantime, officials said the government is helpless in preventing the farmers from returning to their plots despite the imminent danger of an eruption.

quote:

Philippines: Mayon Volcano Eruption 44,000 + in evacuation centers

Manila- Government scientists are saying that a Volcano on the Philippines Bicol peninsula may erupt within days in a large scale explosion as sulfur emissions per day have been doubling in volume.

The most recent report says Sulfur emissions have reached over 7000 tons per day from the near perfect cone Volcano that looms over some twenty towns and three small and one large city in Albay province.

The blasts from the volcano for over a week have shown an increasing level of power, from over 100 volcanic quakes the level of earthquakes topped 220 in the last 24 hours.

Disaster officails have already evacuated more than 39,000 people from the area who live within 8kilometers of mountains base.

Lava flows and ash buildup on the mountain has already begun to fill small valleys and gullies up to four kilometers away from the crater at the summit of the mountain.

Local officials and National government police and troops are working to make sure as many residents leave the area as possible. In some portions on the lowland plains many residents remember massive mud and lahar flows that burried towns and villages in pryoclastic debris some three years ago.

Any sign of sustain rainfall is a signal for people to go to evacuation areas as the steep mountain slopes can create massive flash floods of lahar and volcanic mudflows which can rage down slopes carrying with them boulders and the wet cement like 'Lahar flows' that can destroy almost any structure in the path of the fast flowing debris.

Mayon Volcano Lava Flows Captured [Albay, Philippines]

quote:

Dorpen bedekt met as

Zeker drie dorpjes in de buurt van de Filipijnse vulkaan Mayon zijn maandag bedekt door as. Vulkanologen denken dat de Mayon binnen enkele dagen of uren kan uitbarsten en voerden het waarschuwingsniveau op van drie naar vier, op een schaal van vijf.

Mayon bedekt dorpen met as, vulkanologen waarschuwen

De vulkaan, een van de meest actieve in het Aziatische land, stoot al dagen lava en as uit. Wetenschappers maten zondag ruim 450 kleine aardbevingen, die worden veroorzaakt door vulkanische activiteit, binnen een tijdsbestek van enkele uren. Dat was meer dan twee keer zoveel als de dag ervoor. Krachtige explosies binnenin de vulkaan zijn hoorbaar op een afstand van 12 kilometer, waar zich een meetstation bevindt.

1.300 gezinnen weigeren te vertrekken
Tienduizenden Filipijnen die rondom de vulkaan wonen in de centrale provincie Albay, hebben hun woningen verlaten en worden opgevangen. Zo'n 1.300 gezinnen weigeren te vertrekken. Ze willen hun boerderijen en vee niet achterlaten.

De Mayon is in de afgelopen vierhonderd jaar ongeveer vijftig keer uitgebarsten. In 1814 begroeven lavastromen een complete stad, waardoor twaalfhonderd mensen het leven verloren. Het huidige patroon van vulkanische activiteit lijkt op dat van 2006, toen de Mayon twee maanden lang lava en as uitstootte. Tot een uitbarsting kwam het toen niet.

De bijna 2.500 meter hoge vulkaan is een populaire toeristische bestemming. De Mayon is bekend om zijn bijna perfecte kegelvorm.

quote:

Op dinsdag 22 december 2009 09:27 schreef harmenst het volgende:
Laat de klimaat-top wat doen tegen die vulkanen dan! Die stoten pas veel co2 uit.

quote:

Manila on high alert for the eruption of volcano Mayon

Ash explodes from the crater covering surrounding villages. Shelters, housing nearly 50 thousand refugees, also at risk. The medical staff sound alarm: dust hazardous to the lungs and skin. The experts wait to raise the alert level to 5, the maximum of the scale.

Manila (AsiaNews / Agencies) - Experts from the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) are evaluating the possibility of raising the alert level to 5, the maximum on the scale, for the activity of volcano Mayon. There are continuous eruptions from the crater and ash has covered the villages of the area. A full scale eruption could occur "at any moment."

The volcano Mayon is located in the central region of the country, about 360 kilometres southeast of Manila, it has a maximum height of 2460 meters. For some days now very fine ash has been smoking from the crater covering some nearby villages. Medical staff have warned that the dust could cause "serious respiratory or skin problems." Thousands of people now housed in shelters set up in the area, eight kilometres away from the "evacuation area" are now at risk.

Eyewitnesses reported that the ash has spread up to 10 km away from the crater. Eric Tayag, head of the Government Department for epidemics, has invited residents to remain indoors and avoid exposure to dust.

Manila has so far evacuated 9200 families, for a total of over 44 thousand people from areas considered at risk. Jimmy Sincioco, a spokesman for Phivolcs, said the experts are awaiting further "critical factors" to "raise the alert level to 5", which indicates imminent eruption.

When strong explosions are felt, he adds, and earthquakes in the area of volcano Mayon are felt by the inhabitants of Legazpi in the province of Albay, then it will be "the moment of maximum alert.

quote:

Op dinsdag 22 december 2009 12:15 schreef Adelante het volgende:
Het feit dat er dan geen "nieuw" meer komt mag de pret niet drukken

quote:

Op dinsdag 22 december 2009 14:48 schreef Jumparound het volgende:
van twitter:
[..]

quote:

Mayon stays at critical level
Mayon Volcano continued to shoot ash clouds in to the sky on Thursday as thousands of displaced residents are set to spend their traditional Christmas Eve in evacuation centers.

More than 20 ash explosions were recorded from 5 a.m.-9:30 a.m. Wednesday reported ABS-CBN Legazpi’s Aireen Perol during ABS-CBN News Channel’s Dateline Philippines. She said that the ash explosion which occurred 8:43 a.m. was reported to have reached 1.5 to 2 kilometers high.

Eighty-two low frequency volcanic quakes were also reported to have been recorded in the same period while rumbling sounds continue to be heard.

There were 4 occurrences of lava fountaining Wednesday night, said Perol, with 1 of these reaching 500 meters from the summit. Several explosions with ejected incandescent lava fragments were reportedly noted during night observations.

Meanwhile, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology (Phivolcs), in its 7 a.m. bulletin Thursday, said the volcano continues to show intense activity 4 days after it raised Alert Level 4.

Phivolcs said that Mayon’s seismic activity, while lesser in number from the past days, remained elevated in number and size as the agency’s seismic monitoring network detected 815 volcanic earthquakes and continuously recorded harmonic tremors on Wednesday. Many of these volcanic earthquakes were reportedly recorded at maximum deflection.

Ash explosions observed during periods of good visibility numbered 20, said Phivolcs.

The volcano’s sulfur dioxide (SO2) emission rate reportedly remained very high and was measured at an average of 5,737 tons per day on Wednesday. 124 audible booming and rumbling sounds were intermittently heard for the past 24 hours. Red hot lava also continuously flowed down along the Bonga-Buyuan, Miisi and Lidong gullies.

Phivolcs chief Renato Solidum earlier said Mayon's increasing seismic activity could be a sign of a major eruption.

"It has intensified since we hoisted level four, and there have been new explosions," Solidum said. "The tendency of the volcano is that the pressure is getting stronger and stronger and this could lead to a major explosion."

"Mayon remains at a very critical level," he said.

Solidum said however that the agency is not about to raise the alert level warning to its highest at level 5.

“This is actually the highest alert for warning for people to avoid danger zones,” said Solidum on alert level 4.

“But in terms of evacuation of people, the initial evacuation in the extended danger zone would remain the same even if we state alert level 5 or [when] the hazardous eruption is in progress We will observe this in case the hazardous eruption occurs if we will extend the danger zone. But as of now the action plans are the same,” said Solidum.

Phivolcs reiterated that the Extended Danger Zone (EDZ) from the summit of 8-kilometers on the southern sector of the volcano and 7-kilometers on the northern sector should remain free of human activity. The agency had warned that areas just outside of this EDZ should prepare for evacuation in the event hazardous explosive eruptions intensify.

“Sad Christmas”

Meanwhile, the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) reported that 9,754 families or 46,639 persons are in 26 evacuation centers.

President Arroyo on Wednesday visited evacuation centers Wednesday after spending a 3-day vacation with her family in Hong Kong.

She met with NDCC officials and also distributed relief goods to evacuees.

Meanwhile, presidential candidates in the 2010 national elections have also visited Mayon evacuees.

On Thursday, Nacionalista Party standard bearer Sen. Manuel Villar II visited 3 evacuation centers in Albay.

Sen. Benigno Aquino III of Liberal Party and former President Joseph Estrada of Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino also distributed relief goods on Tuesday and Wednesday respectively.

Senator Richard J. Gordon, who is also Philippine National Red Cross chair, also reportedly arrived in Legazpi City to oversee PNRC assistance to evacuees as well as to distribute Christmas packages for the displaced residents.

The provincial government of Albay has earlier distributed “Noche Buena” packages to the displaced residents who will be spending their Christmas Eve in the evacuation centers.

On Tuesday night, military and police personnel with Santa hats held a concert for the evacuees to cheer them up during the holiday season. Other children were seen scrambling to line up after being promised free ice cream cones and other Christmas treats if they behaved.

Albay Gov. Joey Salceda, had earlier declared the area "open season for aid" so charities can go directly to evacuation centers and help spread holiday cheer.

Christmas is the biggest holiday of the year in this deeply religious Southeast Asian country, where more than 80 percent are Roman Catholics.

Daily masses were also being celebrated at the evacuation camps as a balm to frayed nerves.

"We are praying for strength and for Mayon to stop because the booming sounds are frightening the children," an evacuee said.

quote:

Op donderdag 24 december 2009 14:01 schreef Adelante het volgende:
Hij schiet nog niet echt op, he!?

quote:

Thursday 24th December 2009
Mayon Volcano, Philippines
Eruptions continue at Mayon volcano, Philippines. Lava fountains have reached a height of 500 m above the summit. Lava is flowing down the Bonga-Buyuan, Miisi and Lidong gullies. Seismiometers measured 815 volcanic earthquakes over the past day. One hundred twenty four booming and rumbling sounds were heard over the past 24 hours. Sulphur dioxide emission was 5, 737 tonnes/day.