Mayon permanent danger zone extended to 11 km

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) has extended the permanent danger zone around Mayon Volcano to 11 kilometers (km).

Phivolcs director Renato Solidum said a team of geodetic engineers and geologists were helping the provincial government of Albay install the new markers.

“We will mark 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11-km danger zones temporarily and it would be the provincial government who will make the markers permanent,” Solidum said.

Taking advantage of a lull in the volcano’s activity, the team from Phivolcs installed new markers yesterday around the six to 11-km radius.

Solidum said the new markers would also be used by the provincial disaster risk reduction and management council as reference for other hazards like lahar flow.

He said markers for the six-km permanent danger zone around Mayon and the seven-km extended danger zone on the southeastern flank of the volcano were already in place.

“We will recheck the location of the markers, including the six-km permanent danger zone, using satellite images and GPS (global positioning system),” he said.

Solidum said there are no people living within the six and seven-km danger zones and a few are still within the eight-km danger zone.

The new markers will help the local government evacuate residents should the volcano erupt.

Phivolcs detected a volcanic earthquake, a rockfall event, and a sulfur dioxide emission in the past 24-hour monitoring period.