Mayon restive again

LEGAZPI CITY, Philippines — The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) warned the public yesterday against entering the permanent and extended danger zones around Mayon Volcano after it  spewed ash again on Sunday.

Phivolcs Director Renato Solidum said Mayon recorded a steam-driven explosion at around 12:50 p.m., which lasted for a minute and drifted toward Malilipot and Tabaco.

It was  the second phreatic explosion after the alert level was downgraded last March.

“There was a degassing activity at Mayon... which is still at Alert Level 2,” Solidum said.

He said Mayon’s degassing remains high at over 1,000 tons a day. The normal volume is 500 tons a day.

“This degassing could still trigger magma ascent in the volcano. This could lead to another eruption,” Solidum said.

He said the phreatic explosion was an indication that the alert level could not be lowered yet.

“For as long as Mayon’s degassing is high, crater glow is present and its edifice is inflated, its condition remains abnormal,” Solidum said.

He said Mayon has a “very erratic and unpredictable characteristic,” citing its history of exploding after a lull for several months. – With Celso Amo