LEGAZPI CITY, Philippines – Should the Mayon Volcano explode, it could be bigger than its last eruption in 2006, a volcanologist warned, as local government officials mapped out contingency plans in case of an eruption.

Volcanologist Eduardo Laguerta revealed the assessment done by government scientists during Sunday morning's meeting of local officials and members of disaster coordinating councils in Albay. He described the possible events and scenarios if the volcano grows more restive.

Albay Governor Joey Salceda and Cedric Daep, chief of the Albay Public Safety and Emergency Management Office, presented the response mechanism before, during and after a volcanic eruption.

Laguerta said a bigger explosion was possible because of the relatively low "degassing" manifestations of Mayon Volcano.

A bulletin issued by the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology on Sunday showed a sustained moderate steaming activity since the alert level was raised to 2 last Friday.

Three volcanic quakes were recorded in the last 24 hours, but thick clouds obstructed the view of the crater, which had been glowing due to the presence of lava in the past days.

Among the feared eruption types are the phreatic or gas-induced and the pyroclastic type, which is characterized by the ejection of rocks and ash mixed with hot gas that flow down the volcano slopes at speeds of up to 60 kilometers per hour.

Laguerta warned that a pyroclastic explosion following a "big bang" would be a killer-type of eruption as it could catch people fleeing down the slopes, especially those within the six-kilometer permanent danger zone and the seven- to eight-kilometer extended danger zones.

Salceda alerted the municipal and city disaster councils to maintain close communication with populations at risk and prepare evacualtion centers.

Laguerta said Albay should not become complacent due to a seeming "lull" in Mayon’s activity in the past two days because Philvocs was "expecting a different type of eruption."

This city and Sto. Doming town face the crater notch of Mayon, which resulted from its 1993 pyroclastic explosion that killed 78 farmers in the villages of Mabinit and Buyuan.

A total of 75,147 persons, or 15,243 families live in 39 villages, in six towns andvthree cities around the volcano, according to Albay officials.
Of the total, 4,623 are farmers who have been advised to be on alert for an eruption and to refrain from staying at their farms at night.