‘Crater glow,’ rising magma observed on Mayon — Phivolcs

ALBAY , Philippines — After exhibiting crater glow last Tuesday and Wednesday, Mayon Volcano in Albay remains under Alert Level 2 or at a moderate level of unrest, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said.

“Mayon Volcano’s seismic monitoring network did not detect any volcanic earthquake during the 24-hour observation period,” Phivolcs said in its latest bulletin yesterday morning.

But Phivolcs warned the public that sudden explosions, lava collapses, pyroclastic density currents and ashfall can still occur and threaten areas in the upper to middle slopes of Mayon. 

As such, it recommends strict prohibition of entry into the six-kilometer radius permanent danger zone and a precautionary seven-km radius extended danger zone in the south-southwest to east-northeast sector, stretching from Anoling, Camalig to Sta. Misericordia, Sto. Domingo.

State volcanologists also warned residents close to the danger areas to be alert against rockfalls, pyroclastic density currents and ashfall.

“Active stream/river channels and those identified as perennially lahar-prone areas on all sectors of the volcano should also be avoided, especially during extreme weather conditions when there is heavy and prolonged rainfall,” they said.

Last Tuesday and Wednesday, crater glow was observed at Mayon, indicating that remnant magma from its most recent eruption in 2018 “may be quietly rising,” Phivolcs said.

It said that while earthquakes and sulfur dioxide emission from Mayon’s crater have already declined since the last magmatic eruption in March 2018, “a slight swelling or inflation of the edifice” began this month.

“These observations indicate that Mayon’s recent behavior has been mainly driven by changes occurring within magma already emplaced beneath the edifice rather than by renewed magma intrusion events,” it said.

“In the past two days, crater glow has been detected at the summit crater that is likely caused by hot magmatic gases heating the overlying atmosphere,” Phivolcs explained.

PHIVOLCS equipment stolen

Meanwhile, two solar panels that power instruments monitoring the volcanic and seismic activity of Mayon have been stolen.

An inspection and maintenance team discovered that the solar panels, 150 watts each, were missing from the Mayon Volcano Observatory in Legazpi City last Wednesday.

The Phivolcs station houses instruments such as the global positioning system (GPS) and tiltmeters used to monitor the volcano. Each solar panel costs between P10,000 and P20,000.

“With loss of power supply, no data will be transmitted from this station and, consequently, will affect the monitoring of Mayon Volcano,” Phivolcs said in a statement.

“Fortunately, we have spare solar panels and we will have it fixed as soon as possible,” Department of Science and Technology Undersecretary and Phivolcs officer-in-charge Renato Solidum told The STAR.

Republic Act 10344, the “Risk Reduction and Preparedness Equipment Protection Act,” penalizes “the unauthorized taking, stealing, keeping or tampering of government risk reduction and preparedness equipment, accessories and similar facilities.”

“Hence, the public is strongly encouraged to help in taking care of our monitoring instruments and to promptly report any untoward incident,” the Phivolcs said.  – With Rainier Allan Ronda