Mayon less violent but big bang still possible —Phivolcs
A giant plume rises from the Mayon volcano when it erupted on Jan. 22, 2018. The Phivolcs said on Monday, Jan. 29, 2018, that volcanic activity was less violent in the past few days but said a bigger eruption was still possible. AFP FILE
Volcanic activity on Mayon has become less intense compared to last week but the Philippine Institute of Seismology and Volcanology (Phivolcs) said a more violent eruption could still take place.
Phivolcs director Renato Solidum said the height of the ash plumes that Mayon generated over the past days were lower compared to the first days when it erupted.
“Usually mga two kilometers lang. Hindi ito kasing taas compared sa mga naunang ash plumes noong first days ng week,” Solidum said in an interview with Radyo Inquirer 990 AM.
“Saka may pause noong Friday afternoon to Saturday evening. Mga 28 hours na walang lava fountaining activity,” he added.
On Jan. 22, the Phivolcs recorded a five-kilometer high ash plume and a 700-meter high lava fountain episode that forced the agency to immediately raise to alert level of Mayon to four.
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Despite the decrease in height of its ash columns, Solidum said Mayon’s crater continued to swell, leaving the possibility of a destructive explosion.
“Hindi pa natin masasabi na humihina. Visually, parang humihina pero actually patuloy ang paglabas ng lava,” Solidum said.
“Ang scenario na ating tinitingnan ay possibleng ganyan lang ang ipinapakita ng volcano until maubos yung kanyang dapat ilabas. O di kaya ay magkaroon ng mas malalakas pang pagsabog kesa sa kasalukuyan kung makaipon ng gas sa loob ng bulkan,” he added. /cbb
