Thousands fled from their homes as lava oozed out of a rumbling Philippine volcano on Monday in what volcanologists described as a “quiet eruption”, warning it could lead to a hazardous explosion within days. Lava was slowly flowing out of the Mayon volcano’s crater along with a spectacular 1,000-meter (3,280-foot) ash plume rising into the sky, the nation’s volcanology institute said. More than 12,000 people have been ordered to leave a seven-kilometer (four-mile) danger zone around the crater, as officials warned them of potentially destructive mudflows and toxic clouds. “Technically, the volcano is erupting but the eruption is fairly quiet. It may escalate into a hazardous eruption,” Paul Alanis, science research specialist at the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs), told AFP. A hazardous or explosive eruption means a lava fountain or a spray of hot rocks and gases that could move as fast as 60 kilometers per hour, Alanis added. Local disaster officials also warned of volcanic mudflows known as lahars. “Because of continuous rains in past weeks, debris deposited (on) the slopes of Mayon could lead to lahar flows. If rain does not stop it could be hazardous,” Claudio Yucot, head of the region’s office of civil defense, told AFP. Mayon, a near-perfect cone that draws thousands of tourists, even during minor eruptions, rises 2,460 meters (8,070 feet) above a largely agricultural region some 330 kilometers southwest of Manila. It is considered the nation’s most active volcano. Steam-driven eruptions and rockfalls began over the weekend, and the… [Read full story]
More than 30,000 people have fled their homes ahead of an expected eruption of the Mayon volcano in the central Philippines, the Red Cross said on December 16. Philippine authorities have said a large-scale eruption of the 2,464-meter (8,077-foot) peak is imminent, and have begun trying to evacuate about 50,000 people living around the nation's most active volcano. Gwendolyn Pang, the secretary-general of the Philippine Red Cross, said the ground around the mountain shook several times on Wednesday. Emergency workers have so far evacuated 30,751 people, with 21 centers set up to take in the evacuees, she said. People in…... [read more]
Tens of thousands of villagers in the Philippines fled their homes on December 15 as one of the nation’s most active volcanoes spewed out lava and sent clouds of ash high into the sky, authorities said. Soldiers and police marshalled the evacuation from the so called “danger zone” around the foothills of the volcano Mayon, amid concerns a big eruption could occur at any moment. Cedric Daep, the head of disaster relief operations in the eastern Bicol region said the authorities were trying to evacuate nearly 50,000 people from villages 8km from the volcano by December 16. The Philippine Institute…... [read more]
Five people are feared dead after one of the Philippines' most active volcanoes spewed a giant ash cloud on Tuesday, with foreign tourists on its slopes during the eruption, authorities said. National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council chief Eduardo del Rosario said local officials reported that up to 20 climbers and guides, including foreigners, were on Mount Mayon when it erupted."Five killed and seven are injured, that is the latest report," del Rosario said. "We do not have the identity of those killed or injured, whether they are foreigners or locals." He said rescuers could not confirm firsthand the…... [read more]
Tens of thousands of people evacuated from the area around Mayon volcano in the Philippines may have to spend up to four months in temporary shelters, officials said on Saturday. More than 39,000 of the 50,000 people living in farming communities in the fertile foothills of Mayon have so far been relocated since the mountain began spewing lava, steam and ash Monday. But with signs that the 2,460m volcano was preparing for a major explosion, the evacuees have been told to prepare "for an extended stay of up to three months or four months in camps," said Cedric Daep, public…... [read more]
Mount Sinabung on the western island of Sumatra sent hot rocks and ashup to 5,000 metres in the air, Indonesia’s National Disaster MitigationAgency emergency response director Tri Budiarto said. No casualties have been recorded so far, he added. However, he noted that lava flows destroyed thousands of hectares ofcrops, while smoke and ash seriously polluted surrounding villages. The 2,457-metre mountain is one of the 129 active volcanoes in Indonesia. It had been quiet for around 400 years until it rumbled back to life in 2010, and again in September last year.-VNA... [read more]
