Mayon Volcano logs 248 quakes, and 112 rockfall events in last 24 hrs – Phivolcs

FILE PHOTO: Villages in areas identified as high-risk for lahar from Mayon Volcano are advised to be ready, especially during the typhoon season as heavy and continuous rains may generate lahar flows along major channels. This image of Mayon was taken from Barangay Mabinit in Legazpi City on July 21, 2023. —MARK ALVIC ESPLANA

MANILA, Philippines — State volcanologists recorded 248 volcanic earthquakes and 112 rockfall events in Mayon Volcano during its latest 24-hour monitoring period.

In a bulletin issued at 8 a.m., the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said that from 5 a.m. on Friday (August 4) to 5 a.m. on Saturday (August 5), a total of 248 low-frequency volcanic earthquakes including 124 “tremor events” were logged by the Mayon Volcano Network.

Low-frequency quakes occur for less than a minute while tremor events last for more than a minute.

READ: LIVE UPDATES: Mayon Volcano

While Mayon registered a lower number of volcanic earthquakes in the past day compared to the 272 recorded in the previous 24-hour observation period, Phivolcs noted that tremor events greatly increased from 10 based on its 5 a.m., August 4, to 5 a.m., August 5, monitoring.

Additionally, Phivolcs said Saturday that five pyroclastic density currents were logged in the past 24 hours.

Phivolcs further reported that Mayon’s sulfur dioxide emission continued, degassing an average of 1,602 metric tons on August 4.

Slow effusion of lava from Mayon’s summit crater likewise persisted, Phivolcs noted.

“Alert Level 3 is maintained over Mayon Volcano, which means that it is currently in a relatively high level of unrest, and hazardous eruption within weeks or even days could still be possible,” it said.

Mayon’s alert level status was raised from 2 to 3 on June 8.

Phivolcs Director Dr. Teresito Bacolcol earlier noted that the volcano’s unrest may last for a few months.

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