Rains trigger lahar flow from Mayon Volcano

LEGAZPI CITY, Philippines — Lahar from Mayon Volcano flowed in the Anoling river channel in Daraga, Albay due to rains spawned by Tropical Storm Basyang, an official of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said yesterday.

Ed Laguerta, Mayon resident volcanologist, said pyroclastic materials also flowed in other river channels and in the Miisi, Bonga and Basud gulllies.

Laguerta said about 15.5 million cubic meters of pyroclastic density currents are deposited  in  the gullies and river channels of Quirangay, Miisi, Mabinti, Buyuan, Matanag and Basud.

“We are coordinating with city and municipal disaster risk reduction and management officers in Daraga, Camalig, Guinobatan and Ligao as well as in Bacacay, Sto. Domingo and Tabaco to determine the volume of possible lahar deposits for evacuation response,” Cedric Daep, Albay provincial security and emergency management office (Apsemo) head, said.

“Our long-term threat is lahar when all those pyroclastic density currents from the slope of Mayon are slowly brought down by heavy rains,” Daep said.

He said Apsemo is monitoring the amount of rainfall even though the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomic Services Administration gave assurance that Basyang would not bring torrential rains.

Mayon’s activity in the past 24 hours was characterized by sporadic and weak lava fountaining, lava flow and degassing from the crater.

On Tuesday night, lava flows and incandescent rockfalls were observed in the Miisi and Bonga-Buyuan channels.  

At least 94 volcanic earthquakes, most of which corresponded to lava fountaining, were recorded by Mayon’s seismic monitoring network. 

The public is advised to be vigilant and avoid entering the eight-kilometer-radius danger zone as the volcano remains under Alert Level 4.– With Helen Flores

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