Lava flows from the crater of Mayon Volcano, as seen in these photos taken from Daraga, Albay on Thursday, June 15. | PHOTO: INQUIRER.net / Ram Nabong
MANILA, Philippines — Mayon Volcano’s volatile behavior continued overnight.
Two volcanic earthquakes and 299 rockfall events, and seven dome-collapse pyroclastic density currents (PDCs) were on display over the last 24 hours.
Mayon Volcano is still under Alert Level 3.
Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs), in its 8 a.m. bulletin, said the volcano continued to show “intensified unrest or magmatic unrest.”
Earlier, Phivolcs logged one volcanic earthquake, slightly higher rockfall events at 301, and two PDCs.
Meanwhile, Mayon’s “very slow effusion” of lava flow remains at 2.5 kilometers (km) along Mi-isi and 1.8 km along Bonga Gullies within 3.3 km from the crater.
The volcano stays under Alert Level 3 due to “potential explosive activity within days or weeks.” Over the past 24 hours, Mayon released 507 tons of sulfur dioxide daily as of June 21.
Phivolcs also said the volcano’s plumes reached 800 meters tall before being generally seen drifting west.
It warned locals that “rockfalls or landslides or avalanches; ballistic fragments; lava flows and lava fountaining; pyroclastic density currents; moderate-sized explosions; and lahars during heavy and prolonged rainfall” might occur within the area.
Earlier, Phivolcs said that Mayon Volcano’s unrest might continue for at least three months after reviewing its data on its activities in 2014 and 2018.
Last June 18, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said the volcano’s continuous activity had affected 38,979 persons or 10,123 families from 26 barangays in the Bicol region.