By Chito Chavez
For the third time in less than 24 hours, a phreatic eruption occurred at Mount Mayon before noon today.
Photo of Mayon Volcano covered with thick clouds on the right side and grayish ashes at the left side. Photo taken at around 11 a.m. on Sunday in Malabog, Daraga, Albay (Niño N. Luces)
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said the third phreatic eruption was recorded at 11:43 a.m.
Government seismologists said ashfall was experienced in Camalig town in Albay, which has already been affected by the two earlier eruptions.
Earlier, the second phreatic eruption occurred also yesterday at 8:49 a.m., which lasted approximately for five minutes.
In the second eruption, the volcano emitted a grayish steam and ash cloud as sulfurous odor was also detected where rumbling sounds were heard by residents in Barangay Anolong in Camalig.
Phivolcs said the first phreatic eruption was recorded at 4:21 p.m. yesterday which lasted approximately an hour and 45 minutes.
During the first eruption, the volcano discharged grayish steam and ash plume approximately 2,500 meters high that drifted to the southwest portion.
Phivolcs has raised Alert Level 2 over the volcano, which means the "current unrest is probably of magmatic origin, which could lead to more phreatic eruptions or eventually to hazardous magmatic eruptions."
It has also recorded a total of 78 rockfall events since the first eruption until 8 a.m. today.