Philippines' Mayon volcano erupts, sending ash 3 km high; alert raised to Level 3
Mayon in Albay province erupted explosively around midday. Volcanology agency Phivolcs raised the alert from Level 2 to 3 and recommended evacuating the 6-kilometer danger zone.
Archive image · Photo: Jaycee Esmeria / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped and resized)
The Philippines' Mayon volcano erupted at 11:53 a.m. local time on Friday. The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) described a "moderately explosive" eruption lasting about six minutes. A dense ash plume rose about 3,000 meters above the crater and drifted west-southwest.
Phivolcs raised the alert level from 2 to 3, saying the volcano had entered a new phase of magmatic eruption with a higher risk of lava flows and hazardous pyroclastic density currents in the coming days to weeks. It recommended evacuating the 6-kilometer Permanent Danger Zone and warned aircraft to avoid flying near the summit.
Ashfall was expected in Daraga, Camalig, Guinobatan and nearby towns. Albay Governor Noel Rosal suspended classes at all schools. There was no immediate word on injuries or evacuation numbers.