THE Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) has warned of possible eruption of Mayon Volcano following the raised to Alert Level 2 on Friday.
“DOST-PHIVOLCS is raising the Alert Level of Mayon Volcano from Alert Level 1 (abnormal) to Alert Level 2 (increasing unrest),” it said in a 3 p.m. bulletin.
The second alert out of a 5-level system “means that there is current unrest driven by shallow magmatic processes that could eventually lead to phreatic eruptions or even precede hazardous magmatic eruption,” Phivolcs said.
“Ocular inspection of the summit during an aerial survey this morning (October 7) confirmed the presence of freshly extruded lava at the base of the summit lava dome,” it said.
Phivolcs advised the public to be vigilant and refrain from entering the volcano’s 6-kilometer-radius permanent danger zone to “minimize risks from sudden explosions, rockfall, and landslides.”
“In case of ash fall events that may affect communities downwind of Mayon’s crater, people should cover their nose and mouth with [a] damp, clean cloth or dust mask,” it added.
On Wednesday, a Phivolcs official confirmed on Viber that there was a “faint crater glow” at the Mayon Volcano, which was observable only through the telescope.
