MANILA: As officials issued a health warning on Sunday over the dangers posed by the toxic gases and ash erupting from the rumbling crater, thousands of people who live close to a Philippine volcano have sought refuge in evacuation shelters.
Red-hot rocks were reportedly dropping from Mount Mayon in the central province of Albay, according to seismology specialists who said that they had detected at least one volcanic earthquake in the previous 24 hours.
According to the Philippine Civil Defence Office, more than 12,800 people have been relocated to evacuation camps, the majority coming from rural communities around or close to the volcano’s foot.
Teodoro Herbosa, the health secretary, stated during a press conference on Sunday that there is a concurrent health risk when being near the eruption due to breathing sulphur dioxide gas or the particulate matter of ashfalls.
One of the nation’s 24 active volcanoes, Mayon is located around 330 kilometres (205 miles) southeast of the capital Manila.
Rocks were reportedly falling from a lava dome that was crumbling and being forced out of the crater by molten earth beneath, according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology.
State volcanologists said that sulphur dioxide emissions had quadrupled on Saturday and that pebbles were pouring down on regions up to two km distant.
On Thursday, the volcano’s five-step alert system was increased from two to three, and officials issued a warning about potential respiratory diseases brought on by fume inhalation.
On Saturday, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos said: “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 the Philippines’ location on the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” where tectonic plates meet, frequent earthquakes and volcanic activity are a result.
After releasing millions of tonnes of ash, boulders, and lava five years ago, Mayon forced tens of thousands of people to flee their homes.
Mount Pinatubo’s 1991 eruption, which claimed more than 800 lives, was the nation’s most violent eruption in recent memory.
An ash cloud from that catastrophe covered thousands of kilometres. AFP
