Thousands of people living near a Philippine volcano have sought refuge in evacuation centres as officials warned of health hazards posed by ash and hazardous gases streaming from the rumbling crater on Sunday.
Seismologists reported at least one volcanic earthquake in the last 24 hours, and red-hot rocks were falling from Mount Mayon in the central province of Albay.
According to the Philippine civil defence office, about 12,800 people have been evacuated to evacuation shelters, the majority of them are from farming villages at or near the volcano’s base.
In a press conference, Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa told the media, “There is a concomitant health risk while being close to the eruption because of inhaling sulphur dioxide gas or the particulate matter of ashfalls”.
Mayon, located around 330 kilometres (205 miles) southeast of Manila, is regarded as one of the most volatile of the country’s 24 active volcanoes.
According to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, pebbles were falling from a disintegrating lava dome that was being forced out of the crater by molten material beneath the earth.
State volcanologists reported on Saturday that pebbles were pouring down on locations up to two kilometres away and that sulphur dioxide emission had increased.
The volcano’s alert level was upgraded from two to three on Thursday, with authorities warning of potential respiratory ailments from inhaling gases.
On Saturday, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos declared, “With Albay in a state of calamity due to Mayon’s activity, we remind people to follow the recommendations and evacuation instructions of your local governments”.
Because of its location on the Pacific ‘Ring of Fire’, where tectonic plates meet, the Philippines is prone to earthquakes and volcanic activity.
Mayon evicted tens of thousands of people five years ago after spewing millions of tonnes of ash, boulders and lava.
Mount Pinatubo’s 1991 eruption, which killed over 800 people, was the country’s most powerful in recent decades.
That ash cloud from the Volcano travelled thousands of kilometres.
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