Lava dome collapse feared in Mayon Volcano
DANGER LURKS | Mayon Volcano, which towers over Albay’s provincial capital Legazpi City, as shown in this photo in July, has been placed under Alert Level 1 on Sunday, Aug. 21, 2022, after the lava dome at its crater showed signs of collapsing and cascading through slopes facing the city and nearby Sto. Domingo town. (Photo by MARK ALVIC ESPLANA)
LEGAZPI CITY, Albay, Philippines — The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) warned of possible lava dome collapse that would generate pyroclastic flow and rock fall along the slopes of Mayon Volcano.
Paul Karson Alanis, resident volcanologist of the Mayon Volcano Observatory Station at Ligñon Hill here, said there were no indications of rising magma that could result in an eruption but the gas rising from deep inside the volcano was continuously pushing out the remnant magma of the 2018 eruption.
“It’s like toothpaste, when you squeeze it, the paste will come out but not straight and to a certain point, it will bend or fall,” he said.
Alanis said the expansion of the lava dome was one of the primary parameters for placing the volcano under alert level 1 on Sunday.
In its Sunday bulletin, the Phivolcs said a remnant lava dome of the magmatic eruptions between January and March in 2018 had extruded by about 40,000 cubic meters (cu. m) between June 6 and Aug. 20 this year.
The total volume of the lava dome at the summit crater was estimated at 75,000 cu. m and was “unstable,” said Alanis.
If it collapses, the southeast part of the crater facing Legazpi and Sto. Domingo town would be more threatened, he said.
Prohibited activities
Albay Gov. Noel Rosal on Monday prohibited all human activities within the 6-kilometer radius permanent danger zone of Mayon.
In an advisory, Rosal said flower and orchid picking, farming and other human activities would not be allowed within the danger zone, including recreational activities such as camping, hiking, climbing and mountain biking.
Exempted from the ban were those involved in providing public safety and disaster operations.
He advised residents near valleys and river channels to take precautions due to the possible lahar and sediment-laden streamflow that heavy rainfall could trigger.
—MA. APRIL MIER-MANJARES
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