Mayon in soft eruption; calamity state declared

LEGAZPI CITY, Philippines – The “soft eruption” of Mayon Volcano in Albay province has intensified, with lava trickling down some two kilometers from the crater, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said yesterday.

Three cities and five towns covering 46 barangays are now under a state of calamity as the province prepares for the imminent eruption of Mayon, the provincial government said.

Albay Gov. Joey Salceda identified the calamity areas as the cities of Legazpi, Tabaco and Ligao and the towns of Guinobatan, Camalig, Daraga, Sto. Domingo and Malilipot.

Classes were suspended starting Tuesday afternoon as schools would be used as evacuation centers.

Phivolcs-Bicol chief volcanologist Ed Laguerta said that at least 47 volcanic quakes and 270 rock falls were detected in the past 24 hours by the agency’s instruments at the Lignon Hill Observatory.

“These recorded double-digit volcanic quakes and rock fall incidents mean that the pushing of magma to the surface is escalating and that more lava fragments are now detaching from the lava dome, which is estimated to measure at least 150 meters in diameter,” Laguerta told The STAR.

Philvocs is also closely monitoring the sulfur dioxide emission or gas output as sustained increase in its volume means massive degassing in the magma chamber that could lead to a hazardous explosion.

“Hazardous explosions are usually characterized by the scalding pyroclastic flows and towering cauliflower-like ash columns,” Laguerta said.

A portion of the detaching fragments from the lava dome is gradually patching the collapsed crater wall facing Legazpi City.

“This means that should the cracked portion of the crater wall restore as it was before the 1984 violent eruption, lava could now flow down slope at any direction, and no longer merely confined to the southeast portion as it is at present,” Laguerta warned.

Philvocs said Mayon’s alert status remains at Alert Level 3, which means that hazardous eruption is possible within weeks. Philvocs sent additional personnel to Albay to keep a close watch on Mayon.

Evacuation continues

Salceda said that as of yesterday morning, 12 Army trucks evacuated at least 4,624 families, or 23,557 persons, from 16 barangays located within six to eight kilometers from Mayon’s crater.

Evacuated were residents of barangays Maninila, Muladbucad Grande, Muladbucad Pequeño and Tandarora in Guinobatan town; Canaway, San Isidro and Calbayog in Malilipot town; Anoling, Cabangan, Quirangay, Salugan, Sua and Tumpa in Camalig town; Baligang and Nasisi in Ligao City; and Magapo, Comon, Buang and Mariroc in Tabaco City.

Salceda said the residents of Legazpi City, Daraga and Sto. Domingo are already at the Taysan relocation site, San Roque relocation center and Anislag relocation village, respectively.

Evacuees received food and other relief items since the first day of their evacuation, Salceda added.

The military has set up “chokepoints” in Albay to prevent residents who were evacuated from returning to danger zones. Col. Raul Farnacio, chief of the Army’s 901st brigade, said security forces are conducting patrols in areas where evacuations are taking place.

“Chokepoints were established in the six-kilometer permanent danger zone,” Farnacio said. “(The purpose) is to check and monitor the residents to ensure that none of them will enter their houses.”

Legazpi Bishop Joel Baylon asked the faithful living in the danger zones to abide by the evacuation procedures and urged his parishioners to pray the Oratio imperata for God to deliver them from calamities. With Francis Elevado, Alexis Romero, Helen Flores, Celso Amo, Evelyn Macairan