6 volcanic quakes on Mayon in last 24 hours — Phivolcs

MANILA, Philippines — Six volcanic quakes and two rockfall events were recorded on Mayon Volcano in Albay province in the last 24 hours, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said Friday.

In its latest bulletin, Phivolcs said two of these earthquakes were related to phreatic (beneath the water table) eruption events that occurred at 8:11 a.m. on Thursday and 6:27 a.m. on Friday.

Mayon Volcano belched out grayish ash plumes that rose up to 500 meters to 200 meters high above the summit before drifting southwest, Phivolcs said.

Mayon Volcano’s seismic monitoring network recorded 6 volcanic earthquakes and 2 rockfall events during the 24-hour observation period. These phreatic events generated 500- and 300-m high grayish ash plume from the summit before drifting southwest, respectively.#BantayBulkan pic.twitter.com/nL3oDA5mF2

— PHIVOLCS-DOST (@phivolcs_dost) March 8, 2019

Moderate emission of white steam-laden plumes was also observed and at night, a fair crate glow from the summit could be seen.

Phivolcs said Alert Level 2 currently prevails over Mayon Volcano. This means that the volcano is at a “moderate level of unrest,” according to Phivolcs.

The public is reminded that sudden explosions, lava collapses, pyroclastic density currents (PDCs) and ashfall can still occur and threaten areas in the upper to middle slopes of Mayon.

Phivolcs said entry into the six kilometer-radius of the Permanent Danger Zone (PDZ) and the seven kilometer-radius of the Extended Danger Zone (EDZ) must be strictly prohibited. /muf