Possible eruption seen with sudden inflation of Mayon’s surface

LEGAZPI CITY, Philippines – A hazardous eruption might happen soon if the faster increase in the surface inflation of Mayon Volcano continues, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) warned yesterday.

Phivolcs-Bicol chief volcanologist Ed Laguerta said an inflated surface indicates that magma is being pushed to the surface of the volcano through a degassing process.

Mayon’s surface has inflated by three millimeters in just 10 days, but normally it takes over a year to record at least 10 millimeters of inflation.

“An increase of three millimeters in 10 days is very significant because this indicates that the magma is being pushed to the surface at a faster pace,” Laguerta told The STAR.

“This means that the pressure of magma pushing inside the volcano is so strong that it could inflate the surface to up to three millimeters in a short 10-day span of time,” added Phivolcs volcanologist Paul Alanis.

A sudden drop in sulfur dioxide (SO2) emission could also aggravate the restive condition of Mayon.

Alanis explained that if the SO2 emission suddenly drops and the inflation continues, a stronger eruption looms because the crater of Mayon might have been clogged by the lava dome.

Officials bracing for eruption

Disaster management officials and health officials in Albay province are bracing for a hazardous eruption as the number of evacuees yesterday increased to 12,739 families or 54,537 people.

Albay Gov. Joey Salceda said provincial officials would not prevent residents near the danger zones from voluntarily evacuating should they feel that this is the best thing to do.

Salceda also thanked the national government for immediately releasing food and other assistance to evacuees that amounted to P134 million as of yesterday.

The Department of Health (DOH), meanwhile, gave assurance that supplies and manpower have been “pre-positioned” to help evacuees.

“Our Albay office had already pre-positioned anything that may be needed, from water to medicines,” DOH spokesman Lyndon Lee Suy said in a press briefing.

Medical teams are now on guard for possible outbreaks of diseases at evacuation centers, particularly upper respiratory tract infections and diarrhea. So far, the DOH has not observed any unusual increase in cases at any evacuation center.

The Department of Education, on the other hand, will build temporary learning spaces worth around P18 million to augment the need for classrooms as many schools are being used as evacuation centers. – With Sheila Crisostomo