Vulkaan Mayon op de Filipijnen staat op springen

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'Lull before the storm'; experts fear 'big bang'
LEGAZPI CITY – Volcanologists closely monitoring the activities of Mayon Volcano are wary of the calm before the storm.

With past eruption records in mind, volcanologists here are becoming more fidgety with the sudden lull of Mayon Volcano following its awesome two-day display of fireworks, saying it could serve as a prelude to the anticipated big bang.

Resident volcanologist Ed Laguerta said they are relying on the previous eruption records of Mount Mayon in doing away with any recommendation for the more than 47,000 evacuees to return home.

“We already learned our lesson in the past. Every affected resident here knows that the silence of Mayon is not an assurance that they would be safe if they go back home,” said Laguerta.

Laguerta is particularly referring to the 1984 Mayon Volcano major relaxing when a series of loud explosions occurred, coupled with the sudden gush of some 70 million cubic meters of pyroclastic materials from Mount Mayon.

“Fortunately, there were no casualties reported on that incident but it now serves as a lesson for both the residents and us that physical observation of Mount Mayon is not enough to predict what would happen next,” said Laguerta.

This was likewise echoed by Cedric Daep, Albay Provincial Disaster and Coordinating Council (PDCC) head, saying they coordinate more with other government agencies once a lull in activities would be monitored.

“Mas lalo kaming naghahanda kapag biglang nanahimik ang Mayon kasi baka nag-iipon lang ’yan ng lakas at biglang sumabog,” said Daep.

On Saturday, Mayon Volcano dumped a huge volume of ash in the western side of the volcano covering some barangays of Guinobatan, Camalig, and Ligao City.

But Laguerta said the reported ash cloud that rained over the three areas do not entirely come right from the crater of the Mayon Volcano, saying they are an accumulation of ash deposits in the slopes and the slight ash puffs recorded yesterday.

“The direction of the wind is heading toward those areas, so it is an expected phenomenon brought by the northeast monsoon (amihan),” said Laguerta.

Aside from the previous eruption records of Mayon, volcanologists here are heavily relying on the monitoring instruments they put up around the volcano due to the cloud formation around it.

And based on these instruments, it was recorded that there were only 33 ash explosions since Friday until 7 a.m. yesterday and 26 rumbling sounds compared to nearly 100 ash puffs and more than a hundred booming and rumbling sounds in the past few days.

From as high as two kilometers of ash explosion on December 24, Phivolcs reported that the ash explosions only went as high as one kilometer yesterday.

Laguerta, however, said that they recorded a significant increase in the emission of sulfur dioxide from nearly 2,000 tons a day on December 24 to nearly 9,000 tons a day.

“So we cannot say at this point that it is already safe for evacuees to go back home, we still have to monitor and monitor,” said Laguerta.

Asked if that would mean evacuees will have to spend their media noche in evacuation centers, Laguerta said: “Definitely.”

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Mayon a no-fly zone
LEGAZPI CITY — Air Force and disaster officials here have declared the area around Mount Mayon a nofly zone after they were flooded with requests from local and foreign tourists for aerial sorties to take a look and document the rumbling volcano from above.

This as Mayon continued to spew ashes from the crater and the northeast monsoon (amihan) blows the ash deposits on the slopes towards the southwest, affecting the towns of Camalig, Daraga and Guinobatan, all in Albay.

Air Force Col. Kit Caraga, commander of the Tactical Operations Group 5 based in Legazpi City, said their pilots will be the first to observe the five-kilometer no-fly zone around Mayon because of the dangers posed by the volcanic ash on aircraft.

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'Tourists ignore danger zone'
LEGASPI, Dec 28 (AFP) - Philippine troops have been ordered to stop foreigners from getting close to the volatile Mayon volcano after two tourists ventured inside the "danger zone," authorities said Monday.

Extra troops have been deployed at checkpoints blocking access to Mayon after the tourists and their local guides were seen riding all-terrain vehicles near its foothills on Sunday.

"They looked Chinese. They must have passed through other areas, not the roads where the checkpoints are, to get inside," Captain Razaleigh Bansawan, spokesman of a military task force securing the danger zone, told AFP.

"They wanted to see the lava column."

Mayon has been spewing lava and sending spectacular fountains of ash into the sky for about two weeks, and authorities have warned that a major eruption could occur any day.

Nearly 50,000 villagers living in Mayon's foothills have already been evacuated to areas outside the so-called "danger zone," which has a radius of eight kilometres (five mile).

But villagers wanting to tend to their farms, as well as adventurous tourists, have caused headaches for authorities by going into zone.

Bansawan expressed frustration at having to waste time dealing with the two foreign tourists on Sunday, saying the military had to chase them out of the zone although the pair was not caught.

Joey Salceda, governor of Albay province where Mayon is located, has ordered a crackdown on local tour guides who take the foreigners into the danger zone, according to Bansawan.

Local emergency management official Jukes Nunez said authorities had noticed tourists visiting Legaspi city near Mayon to watch the lava oozing down the volcano's slopes, which is particularly spectacular at night.

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Dec.31, (THAINDIAN NEWS) Though the Mayon volcano in the Philippines has not been hit by any significant quake, the seismologists and experts have warned that it may start erupting soon. The region where the volcano is located, falls under a seismic belt and this may trigger an eruption anytime. The lava spilling volcano has made the local authorities alert and they do not want to take any chances. Joey Salceda, the Albay Governor has discontinued services like water and electricity in the adjacent region to avoid any large scale mishap. Though a lot of people were evacuated from the danger zone, some of them have returned to celebrate New Year.

According to the reports, both Albay Electric Cooperative and National Power Corporation agreed to discontinue power supply to the region. However, the lava spilling volcano has drawn the attention of the tourists who want to witness the scene. The hotels in the locality are doing brisk business. The flow of lava and ash continue unabated as the scientists have observed. In the last 24 hours, at least 16 volcanic quakes have been recorded by seismic detectors. The incessant inflation of the volcano has kept the seismologists on tenterhooks. They believe that the danger is far from over.

The volcano has a record of erupting after a brief period of inactivity. The majority of the people living in adjacent region have been evacuated but a few of them have refused to leave their homes. In the past 400 years, the Mayon volcano has erupted nearly 40 times and this time it has certainly spoilt the Christmas festivities for the people in the region

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Threatlevel lowered
Authorities in the Philippines have lowered the alert level around Mount Mayon, a volcano which spewed ash and lava for several weeks.

Thousands of local residents, who were forcibly evacuated from their houses near the volcano on the main island of Luzon, were preparing to return home on Saturday.

Scientists had warned of the possibility of a dangerous eruption, and on December 20 - as activity inside the volcano intensified - the alert level was raised to four on a five-point scale.

Nearly 50,000 people were evacuated from the area and during Christmas holidays, government troops had been ordered to enforce an extended 10km no-go zone.

Most will now be allowed to return home but a six-kilometre danger zone remains in force around the volcano, meaning around 3,000 people will have to remain in evacuation camps.

Despite the volcano appearing to have settled into a more moderate eruption phase, Renato Solidum, the director of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, says danger still remains around Mount Mayon.

"The situation could change and we could raise the alert level again. This is what happened in 2001 when Mayon paused for a long time and then resumed erupting," Solidum said.

Mayon is the most active of 22 volcanoes dotted across the Philippines. In the latest eruption, lava flowed from the dome of the 2,460-metre Mayon for more than two weeks, with clouds of ash ejected up to 2km into the sky.

Located about 330km southeast of Manila, the Philippines capital, Mayon has erupted 48 times in recorded history.

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Mayon still emitting gases; Crater still glowing
Mayon Volcano continues to discharge gases and its crater is still glowing, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said Saturday.

Phivolcs Director Renato Solidum said that based on their observations of the volcano on Friday, it had a “pale glow” in the crater.

“It’s a pale glow that can be observed with the naked eye, but this is not as intense as it was when we were at alert level 4,” Solidum said.

The crater glow, Solidum said, means “the volcano is still discharging gases and hot magma at a shallow level is still degassing. The amount of gas is still high.”

According to Solidum, the volcano is discharging sulfur dioxide as well as water vapor.

In its bulletin for Friday, Phivolcs said it had detected five volcanic earthquakes and 20 rock fall events, which is the detachment of lava fragments on the volcano’s upper slope.

Phivolcs said thick clouds hampered the visual observation of the volcano during the day. But at night, they observed an “Intensity 2” crater glow.

The sulfur dioxide (SO2) emission rate was measured Saturday at an average of 1,345 tons per day.

Phivolcs has maintained alert level 3 over Mayon Volcano. This means that the six-kilometer radius permanent danger zone (PDZ) around the volcano and the seven-kilometer extended danger zone (EDZ) on the southeast flank of the volcano should be free from human activity because of sudden explosions that may generate hazardous volcanic flows.

“People residing close to these danger areas are also advised to observe precautions associated with post-eruption activity, such as rock falls, pyroclastic flows, and ash fallout which could also occur at any time due to instabilities of lava deposited on steep slopes,” Phivolcs said.

It also advised residents in these areas to avoid rivers, especially those perennially identified as lahar-prone in the southern sector, during bad weather conditions or when there is heavy and prolonged rainfall.

Phivolcs reiterated its recommendation to civil aviation authorities to advise pilots to avoid flying close to the volcano’s summit as ejected ash and volcanic fragments from sudden explosions may pose hazards to aircraft

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MANILA, Philippines (Xinhua) – The alert level on Mayon volcano was lowered from three to two after the volcano showed continuous decline in activity, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said today.

Alert Level 2 means a hazardous eruption is less likely although the volcano is showing signs of moderate unrest, while Alert Level 3 means a hazardous eruption is possible in weeks, Phivolcs said.

"Since Jan. 2 when Phivolcs lowered the alert level to Alert Level 3, a further decline in the overall activity of Mayon volcano was noted. In the last 24 hours, only six volcanic earthquakes were recorded," the agency said.

Phivolcs also said that sulfur dioxide emission rates "have decreased considerably" from a high of 2,621 tons a day to the lower level of 597 tons yesterday.

"The decrease in concentration of SO2 gas emission further indicates that no active magma intrusion is occurring beneath the volcanic edifice," it explained.