Residents were evacuated from two villages near the volcano, a tourist attraction in Albay province thanks to its near-perfect cone shape, following a “phreatic or steam-driven eruption”.January 13’s eruption unleashed ash, rocks and sulfuric odor, and was followed by rumbling sounds and a faint glow in the crater, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said.Phivolcs raised the alert to level two, which means that the current activity is “probably of magmatic origin, which could lead to more phreatic eruptions or eventually to hazardous magmatic eruptions.”The public is strongly advised to be vigilant and desist from entering the six kilometre (3.7 mile) radius Permanent Danger Zone to minimize risks from sudden explosions, rockfalls and landslides, the institute said.Located about 300 km southeast of Manila, Mayon is one of the most active volcanoes in the Philippines. Its most destructive eruption was in February 1814, when lava flows buried three towns and killed 1,200 people.- Source from VNS.
GENEVA – The World Health Organisation on Wednesday held off from calling for travel restrictions related to the MERS virus striking Saudi Arabia as the kingdom braces for the Muslim hajj pilgrimage. In a statement following a session of the UN health agency's emergency committee – whose rarity underlined global concerns about MERS – the WHO said there was currently no reason to step up its level of alert. The meeting came amid mounting concern over the potential impact of the annual hajj in October, when millions of people will head to Islam's two holiest sites of Mecca and Medina,…... [read more]
Tens of thousands of people have fled their homes as scientists warn the towering Mayon volcano is about to explode in the Philippines, the country's national news agency reported on December 21. More than 9,000 families - a total of 44,394 people - are being housed in evacuation camps after authorities on Sunday raised the alert status of the country's most active volcano, Albay Province Gov. Joey Salceda said. But officials said not everyone is heeding their warnings - some villagers were spotted within the danger zone checking on their homes and farms on the foothills of the volcano. The…... [read more]
Indonesia on Monday raised alert status of a volcano located in a densely populated area of Central Java to top alert, and asked for a massive evacuation for more than ten thousands people living in the slope of the mountain, officials said. The most volatile Mount Merapi of 2,968 meters high has shown increased seismic activity over the past week, head of volcanology observer at the National Volcanology who goes with a single name Kristianto said. "We have raised the alert status to the higest-level this morning, this means that the mount can erupt at any time," Kristianto told Xinhua…... [read more]
JAKARTA: More than 1,200 Indonesian villagers were on Monday (Jun 15) evacuated from their homes close to a rumbling volcano on Sumatra island, an official said.Authorities raised the alert status of Mount Sinabung - a highly active volcano - at the start of this month after detecting a sharp increase in activity. The volcano erupted at the weekend, sending trails of hot ash tumbling down the mountain. No injuries were reported.Monday's evacuations take to almost 4,000 the number of villagers ordered from their homes this month."Two villages with 1,274 people were evacuated today to safer locations around 10 kilometres away,"…... [read more]
File photo of British Prime Minister David Cameron outside 10 Downing Street in central London. (AFP/Carl Court) DAMASCUS: Britain raised its terror alert level on Friday (Aug 29) over fears of possible jihadist attacks as the United Nations (UN) said the number of refugees from the Syria conflict now tops three million. British Prime Minister David Cameron told reporters there was "no doubt in my mind" that jihadists from the Islamic State (IS) group in Iraq and Syria had their sights set on targets in Europe. Britain raised its terror threat alert level on Friday to "severe", meaning that an…... [read more]
