Mt. Mayon, Blood Moon — portents of disaster?

Skywatchers across the country and around the world gathered outdoors to get a good view of the Super Blue Blood Moon last January 31. I stared at it for a long time and tried to get some energy from it. Who knows it may bring me some kind of luck as it happened on the eve of my birthday. Sheer luck!

The “supermoon” is a full moon that appears around 14 percent larger and 30 percent brighter than the usual full moon. It appears when the moon orbits closest to Earth during its full phase. A “blue moon” on the other hand is the second full moon in a month, while a “blood moon” is seen when a full moon temporarily turns red during a lunar eclipse due to the deflection of sunlight. This is why the moon is called a “Super Blue Blood Moon.”

Records show that the “super blue blood moon” was last observed in the Philippines on December 30, 1982 and in the United States in 1866. According to PAGASA, the phases of the eclipse happened accordingly: Penumbral eclipse at 6:49 pm; Partial eclipse at 7:48 pm; Greatest eclipse at 9:29 pm; Partial eclipse ended at 11:11 pm and the Penumbral eclipse ended at 12:09 am. This was visible in the Indian Ocean, the Pacific Ocean, Asia, Australia, the Middle East, eastern Africa, western South America, North America, and eastern Europe.

Is this an apocalyptic lunar eclipse? The Book of Joel gives us some insight to this: “the sun will turn into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes.”

Extreme Christian fundamentalist Pastor Paul Begley, who runs Paul Begley Prophecy Ministries based in Indiana claimed that the rare lunar event, due to take place on January 31, was written in the Bible thousands of years ago as a warning before the “end of days.”

In his video release he said: “We are living in the final days. It’s all about the Super Blue Blood Moon, it is a prophetic sign of the end times; We are seeing asteroids - AJ 129 is coming in and is gigantic. It will not hit but is coming in fairly close on Superbowl Sunday; God is sending asteroids through towards Earth; We are going to have an apocalyptic event, we could have a high tide event or an earthquake; The moon will be 30 percent bigger and that is a lot of gravitational pull; There have been 48 earthquakes in the last 24 hours, a 6.6 magnitude hit yesterday south of South Africa and between Antarctica, that was very, very powerful. The Earth is reeling and rocking.”

Believe it or not! But one thing is for sure, we are already feeling that end of the world in this neck of the woods – the Philippines: traffic, MRT disaster, staggering electricity rates, no consumer protection whatsoever, dengvaxia, slow internet, stealing prepaid cellular phone loads, dilapidated airports, weak educational system, poverty, corruption, etc. etc. What else can beat this country’s great sorrows and suffering?

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In the past weeks, we’ve been reading about the latest on Mayon Volcano but somehow we are mesmerized by her majestic splendor rather than thinking of the danger and destructions she has created. Mayon Volcano has been erupting for almost two weeks now. Reports say that it still appears to be swelling with magma beneath the surface.

As of January 30, 2018, about 119 volcanic earthquakes, 68 rockfall events, nine tremor events, two lava fountaining, and two episodes of thick pyroclastic density current (PDC) generation from lava collapse have been recorded and released by PHIVOLCS. In another bulletin, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) reported that Mayon continues to spew pyroclastic materials and at least 11 episodes of lava collapse pyroclastic density current events were observed late last week. Phenomenal!

Authorities have maintained the nine-kilometer danger zone. The agency said that the volcano remains under Alert Level 4 but it should actually be Alert level 5 – I think. More than 80,000 residents of Albay have been displaced by Mayon’s eruption. Relief and rescue efforts are now in place.

Mayon, also known as Mayon Volcano or Mount Mayon is located in the province of Albay in Bicol. It is the most perfectly formed cone and is an active stratovolcano. It has erupted 50 times in the past 500 years. The first eruption happened in July 1766. In the 1814 eruption, more than 1,200 people were killed and three towns were buried under mud and rock. It last erupted in 2014.

Mayon has an elevation of 2.46 kilometers and a base diameter of 20 kilometers. It is the highest point of the Bicol Region. Rising 2,462 meters (8,077 ft) from the shores of the Albay Gulf about 10 kilometers (6.2 mi) away, the volcano is geographically shared by the eight cities and municipalities of Legazpi City, Daraga, Camalig, Guinobatan, Ligao City, Tabaco City, Malilipot and Santo Domingo.

Local folklore refers to the volcano being named after the legendary princess-heroine Daragang Magayon. Numerous festivals and rituals are also associated with the volcano and its landscape. The volcano was declared by UNESCO as the centerpiece of the Albay Biosphere Reserve.

Nelson Navarro veteran journalist and biographer, described Mayon in such an endearing way: Just two months ago, I was in Legaspi and was again absolutely charmed by this lovely lady. She was just flirtatious and fun, playing striptease on lazy days and not quite revealing all. Mayon cannot but draw people from afar like me, but sadly never more intensely than when she puts up that all-too-familiar prima donna number, threatening fire and destruction. Disaster tourism it is called, some ringside treat to the ghoulish and thrill-seeking hordes who believe, too cockily I think, that her murderous fury extends no farther than six and safe kilometers radius. Theirs are rather hideous views of ritual mass dole-outs to the poor and grand weddings staged from the terrace of some luxury hotel, all captured on idiot boxes and selfies as if sado-masochistically awaiting a truly spectacular Vesuvius moment. Sparing the oglers, of course, who have to play charity and weep crocodile tears. Me? I prefer a kinder and gentler Mayon which, I know, is a contradiction in terms for volcanoes, no matter how disarmingly beautiful as Mayon has always been.