The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology warned Thursday of the imminent “dangerous eruption” of a volcano in the center of the archipelago and called for the evacuation of populations.
After this alert, hundreds of families living near Mount Mayon in Albay province are expected to be moved to safer areas.
The Institute warned of “increased risks” of lava flows, “dangerous” gas releases and “potential explosive activity in the weeks and even days” to come.
The alert rose to a level of 2 to 3 on a scale of 0 to 5.
Located some 330 km southeast of Manila, Mayon, which looks like an almost perfect cone, is considered one of the 24 most unstable active volcanoes in the Philippines.
The Institute of Seismology says it observed Thursday the rapid evolution, on the east and south-east slopes of Mayon, of three avalanches of hot volcanic ash, stones and gas, known as CDP (pyroclastic density currents).
“All necessary preparations have been made,” said Eugene Escobar, in charge of the Albay Province Natural Disaster Agency.
Rommel Negrete, an employee of this agency, announced that the inhabitants of the village of Anoling would be evacuated from the slopes of the volcano.
At the same time, the Taal volcano, located some 50 km south of the Philippine capital, released sulfur dioxide this week and covered the surrounding villages with a cloud of ash, whose populations were called upon to confine themselves to their homes.
The alert was placed at level 1 by the Institute of Seismology, which observed plumes of steam in the sky two kilometers above sea level.
The Philippines is subject to frequent volcanic and seismic activity due to its position on the Pacific “Ring of Fire”, where tectonic plates meet.
Tens of thousands of people were displaced five years ago when the Mayon spat millions of tonnes of ash, stones and lava into the Bicol region.
The most powerful eruption in recent decades was that of Mount Pinatubo in 1991, which killed more than 800 people about 100 km northwest of Manila.