Phivolcs notes ‘weakening’ of Mayon’s lava effusion

MANILA, Philippines — State volcanologists on Saturday marked the weakening of the lava effusion from the summit crater of Mayon Volcano.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs), in its bulletin issued at 8 a.m., said from 5 a.m. on Friday (July 28) to 5 a.m. on Saturday (July 29), there has been a decline in the volcano’s lava effusion.

But Phivolcs Research Specialist Gerald Malipot told INQUIRER.net that this development does not foretell the immediate cessation of Mayon’s lava effusion.

“Ibig sabihin lang po ay humina siya ngayon. May possibility pa rin na lumakas ito ulit. Baka kasi contributing factor din ang sunud-sunod na sama ng panahon so baka po ‘yung ibabaw ng crater ay naapektuhan ng panay na pag-ulan,” said Malipot in a phone interview.

(It just means that it has weakened for now. There is still a possibility that it will strengthen again. The consecutive inclement weather may have been a contributing factor to this, as it might have affected the surface of the crater by constant rain.)

The expert then stressed that it was “hard to tell” whether Mayon’s high level of unrest would decrease or not.

“Mahirap sabihin na bababa na [ang level of unrest ng Mayon] kasi baka in the next few weeks ay may bagong development so hindi po natin masasabi. Kahit bumababa rin ang number of rockfalls and pyroclastic density currents, baka may chance na dumami [ulit ito] so mahirap pa talagang masabi for now,” Malipot added.

(It is difficult to say that the level of unrest in Mayon will decrease because there may be a new development in the next few weeks, so we cannot say. Even though the number of rockfalls and pyroclastic density currents is also decreasing, there might be a chance of it increasing once again, so it’s really hard to say for now.)

Meanwhile, Phivolcs said no pyroclastic density current, 40 volcanic earthquakes, and 45 rockfall events were also recorded in the volcano’s latest monitoring period.

Mayon’s degassing of sulfur dioxide likewise persisted, emitting an average of 4,113 metric tons on July 28.

Alert Level 3 is maintained over Mayon Volcano, which means that it is still in a “relatively high level of unrest.”

Phivolcs said a hazardous eruption within weeks or even days could still be possible.

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