Bigger Mayon eruption within days; super-hot lava breaches 5-km mark
Published Jan 25, 2018 12:52 am
By Ellalyn De Vera Ruiz and Aaron B. Recuenco
GROWING MORE RESTIVE – Mount Mayon continued to emit lava and ash Wednesday, and Phivolcs expects a bigger eruption within days. (Francis Malasig/EPA-EFE)
Mayon Volcano’s activity shows no sign of stopping as it continues to eject lava fountains and ash clouds continue, which could lead to a bigger eruption within days.
Between 8:54 a.m. Tuesday to 3:57 a.m. Wednesday, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) recorded five episodes of intense but sporadic lava fountaining from the summit crater lasting seven minutes to one hour and 24 minutes.
The lava fountains reached 500 meters to 600 meters high and generated ash plumes that reached three to five kilometers above the crater.
And with pyroclastic materials more than 10 times hotter than boiling water breaching the five-kilometer mark from the summit of the volcano, more forced evacuations were done that raised the number of evacuees to more than 60,000 people.
And there will be more as the deposits inside the volcano are being replenished, which means that Mayon would dump more in the coming days, said volcanologist Ed Laguerta, of the Philippine Institute of Volcanogy and Seismology (Phivolcs).
“The runout of the PDCs (pyroclastic density currents) on the Buyuan Channel is now exceeding five kilometers from the summit of the crater,” said Laguerta.
The PDC (composed of gas, ash and lava) breach is at the Buyuan Channel which is heading toward some barangays in Legazpi City.
The PDC used to flow toward Miisi fronting Camalig town but the Monday eruption has resulted in the diversion of the lava flow toward Buyuan Channel.
On the other hand, the tons of ashes ejected by the volcano in the past few days were dumped in western side of the volcano, particularly in the areas of Guinobatan, Camalig, Ligao City, Oas, and Polangui due to the wind direction.
Laguerta said that based on their monitoring, the edifice of the Mayon is still inflated, which means that there is a pressure build up inside the volcano.
It is the same pressure buildup that pushes out lava from the crater and puffs the PDCs out of the volcano, according to Laguerta.
“These PDCs are the reason we are recommending the evacuation in the danger zones. You will instantly die, it's like you will melt once you are hit because of its very hot temperature,” said Laguerta.
A total of five tremor events corresponding to lava fountaining episodes, three episodes of pyroclastic density current generation from lava collapse, and numerous rockfall events were recorded by Mayon's seismic monitoring network since Tuesday.
Rockfall events were generated by the collapsing lava front and margins of the advancing lava flow on the Mi-isi Gully and by shedding from the summit dome onto the Bonga Gully.
Currently, the Mi-isi and Buyuan lava flows have advanced to three kilometers and one kilometer, respectively, from the summit crater.
Likewise, Phivolcs observed increasing sulfur dioxide emission at an average of 2466 tons daily.
Phivolcs noted that Mayon Volcano’s activity has not subsided since the alert level was raised to No. 4.
Cedric Daep, head of the Albay Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council Office, said it is not only the pyroclastic materials that will kill a person. He said a strong gas pressure that comes with the PDCs can also kill.
Just to illustrate how strong the pressure is, Daep said that during the PDC incident in 1993, they spotted half of a metal cover of a pot embedded on a tree.
During the same incident, Laguerta said they also spotted a piece of wood stuck on the trunk of a tree.
“So just imagine how strong the pressure is to that,” said Laguerta.
Currently, the danger zone was already extended to eight kilometers around the volcano.
Smaller version
Earlier, Science and Technology Undersecretary and Phivolcs OIC Director Renato Solidum said the eruption of Mayon Volcano can be considered a “smaller version” of the 2000-2001, 1984 and 1968 eruptions of the volcano.
Lava and pyroclastic flows, and lava fountaining also occurred during these events – an activity called by Phivolcs as strombolian-vulcanian eruption.
Solidum said Phivolcs is closely monitoring the volcano’s activity, which could lead to a bigger eruption.
Phivolcs strongly advised the public to be vigilant and desist from entering the eight-kilometer-radius danger zone, and to be additionally vigilant against pyroclastic density currents, lahars and sediment-laden streamflows along channels draining the edifice.
It also advised civil aviation authorities to warn pilots from flying close to the volcano’s summit as ash from any sudden eruption can be hazardous to aircraft.
Mayon Volcano remains under Alert Level 4 due to its increased tendency to hazardous eruption "within hours or days."
More evacuees
From more or less 50,000 evacuees on Tuesday morning, Daep said those who sought refuge in evacuation centers have reached 60,564 persons or 15,468 families.
As a result, Daep said the number of evacuation centers also increased to 52 as of Wednesday morning.
“We are anticipating more because a lot of people are self-evacuating because of that they see from the volcano,” said Albay Gov. Al Francis Bichara.
Daep, on the other hand, said that the national government has already started pouring funds to Albay for the evacuees.
On Tuesday, financial assistance and commodities worth P5 million were provided by the Department of Health (DOH) to aid affected families in Albay.
Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said that the “quick-release fund” will also sustain monitoring on the status of the volcano as well as in the evacuation centers.
“As of Monday, the DOH has provided a total of P3,027,155.13 worth of commodities and financial assistance to affected local government units. This includes the provision of tents, mask, health advisories, jerry cans, drugs and medicines and financial assistance of P2 million for the Province of Albay for the construction of toilets and bathing facilities in evacuation centers,” Duque said.
The health department, with the Department of Science and Technology-Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (DOST-Phivolcs), is monitoring the status of Mayon and any untoward incident and response needs. (With a report from Betheena Kae Unite)
GROWING MORE RESTIVE – Mount Mayon continued to emit lava and ash Wednesday, and Phivolcs expects a bigger eruption within days. (Francis Malasig/EPA-EFE)
Mayon Volcano’s activity shows no sign of stopping as it continues to eject lava fountains and ash clouds continue, which could lead to a bigger eruption within days.
Between 8:54 a.m. Tuesday to 3:57 a.m. Wednesday, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) recorded five episodes of intense but sporadic lava fountaining from the summit crater lasting seven minutes to one hour and 24 minutes.
The lava fountains reached 500 meters to 600 meters high and generated ash plumes that reached three to five kilometers above the crater.
And with pyroclastic materials more than 10 times hotter than boiling water breaching the five-kilometer mark from the summit of the volcano, more forced evacuations were done that raised the number of evacuees to more than 60,000 people.
And there will be more as the deposits inside the volcano are being replenished, which means that Mayon would dump more in the coming days, said volcanologist Ed Laguerta, of the Philippine Institute of Volcanogy and Seismology (Phivolcs).
“The runout of the PDCs (pyroclastic density currents) on the Buyuan Channel is now exceeding five kilometers from the summit of the crater,” said Laguerta.
The PDC (composed of gas, ash and lava) breach is at the Buyuan Channel which is heading toward some barangays in Legazpi City.
The PDC used to flow toward Miisi fronting Camalig town but the Monday eruption has resulted in the diversion of the lava flow toward Buyuan Channel.
On the other hand, the tons of ashes ejected by the volcano in the past few days were dumped in western side of the volcano, particularly in the areas of Guinobatan, Camalig, Ligao City, Oas, and Polangui due to the wind direction.
Laguerta said that based on their monitoring, the edifice of the Mayon is still inflated, which means that there is a pressure build up inside the volcano.
It is the same pressure buildup that pushes out lava from the crater and puffs the PDCs out of the volcano, according to Laguerta.
“These PDCs are the reason we are recommending the evacuation in the danger zones. You will instantly die, it's like you will melt once you are hit because of its very hot temperature,” said Laguerta.
A total of five tremor events corresponding to lava fountaining episodes, three episodes of pyroclastic density current generation from lava collapse, and numerous rockfall events were recorded by Mayon's seismic monitoring network since Tuesday.
Rockfall events were generated by the collapsing lava front and margins of the advancing lava flow on the Mi-isi Gully and by shedding from the summit dome onto the Bonga Gully.
Currently, the Mi-isi and Buyuan lava flows have advanced to three kilometers and one kilometer, respectively, from the summit crater.
Likewise, Phivolcs observed increasing sulfur dioxide emission at an average of 2466 tons daily.
Phivolcs noted that Mayon Volcano’s activity has not subsided since the alert level was raised to No. 4.
Cedric Daep, head of the Albay Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council Office, said it is not only the pyroclastic materials that will kill a person. He said a strong gas pressure that comes with the PDCs can also kill.
Just to illustrate how strong the pressure is, Daep said that during the PDC incident in 1993, they spotted half of a metal cover of a pot embedded on a tree.
During the same incident, Laguerta said they also spotted a piece of wood stuck on the trunk of a tree.
“So just imagine how strong the pressure is to that,” said Laguerta.
Currently, the danger zone was already extended to eight kilometers around the volcano.
Smaller version
Earlier, Science and Technology Undersecretary and Phivolcs OIC Director Renato Solidum said the eruption of Mayon Volcano can be considered a “smaller version” of the 2000-2001, 1984 and 1968 eruptions of the volcano.
Lava and pyroclastic flows, and lava fountaining also occurred during these events – an activity called by Phivolcs as strombolian-vulcanian eruption.
Solidum said Phivolcs is closely monitoring the volcano’s activity, which could lead to a bigger eruption.
Phivolcs strongly advised the public to be vigilant and desist from entering the eight-kilometer-radius danger zone, and to be additionally vigilant against pyroclastic density currents, lahars and sediment-laden streamflows along channels draining the edifice.
It also advised civil aviation authorities to warn pilots from flying close to the volcano’s summit as ash from any sudden eruption can be hazardous to aircraft.
Mayon Volcano remains under Alert Level 4 due to its increased tendency to hazardous eruption "within hours or days."
More evacuees
From more or less 50,000 evacuees on Tuesday morning, Daep said those who sought refuge in evacuation centers have reached 60,564 persons or 15,468 families.
As a result, Daep said the number of evacuation centers also increased to 52 as of Wednesday morning.
“We are anticipating more because a lot of people are self-evacuating because of that they see from the volcano,” said Albay Gov. Al Francis Bichara.
Daep, on the other hand, said that the national government has already started pouring funds to Albay for the evacuees.
On Tuesday, financial assistance and commodities worth P5 million were provided by the Department of Health (DOH) to aid affected families in Albay.
Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said that the “quick-release fund” will also sustain monitoring on the status of the volcano as well as in the evacuation centers.
“As of Monday, the DOH has provided a total of P3,027,155.13 worth of commodities and financial assistance to affected local government units. This includes the provision of tents, mask, health advisories, jerry cans, drugs and medicines and financial assistance of P2 million for the Province of Albay for the construction of toilets and bathing facilities in evacuation centers,” Duque said.
The health department, with the Department of Science and Technology-Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (DOST-Phivolcs), is monitoring the status of Mayon and any untoward incident and response needs. (With a report from Betheena Kae Unite)