Thousands evacuated; Mayon eruption looms

State of calamity declared in Albay

MANILA, Philippines — Albay officials have started evacuating thousands of residents after a state of calamity was declared in the province yesterday due to unrest in Mayon Volcano, which the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) described as a “quiet” eruption.

Phivolcs said sulfur dioxide emissions were measured at 332 tons per day on Wednesday and that there is inflating on the upper slopes.

The agency advised that the six-kilometer-radius permanent dangerzone (PDZ) be evacuated due to the danger of pyroclastic density currents (PDCs), lava flows, rockfalls and other volcanic hazards.

“The province of Albay is now placed under a state of calamity pursuant to Resolution No. 0607-2023 of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan ng Albay, following the notice issued yesterday by Phivolcs raising the status of Mayon Volcano to Alert Level 3,” the provincial information office said.

More than 2,000 families or 10,000 people started evacuation yesterday as several government agencies called on residents living inside Mayon’s danger zone to seek safer ground amid the volcano’s increasingly abnormal behavior.

Paul Alanis, Phivolcs resident volcanologist at the Lignon Hill Observatory in Legazpi City, said they already advised the concerned local government units (LGUs) to immediately move people still staying inside the danger zones of Mayon.

Eugene Escobar, officer-in-charge of the Albay Public Safety and Emergency Office (Apsemo), said that those evacuated were within the danger zones of Daraga, Camalig, Guinobatan and Ligao City, the areas surrounding Mayon.

Alanis said that thin light brown ash from the rockfalls and continuous moderate degassing from the summit crater had produced bent, steam-laden plumes that drifted south of the volcano.

Guinobatan Vice Mayor Anne Gemma Ongjoco said around 5,000 individuals are expected to be evacuated from the town due to the ongoing unrest at Mayon.

“Actually, we are preparing for the evacuation of residents. Hopefully we can finish because we project evacuees to reach 1,000 families…5,000 individuals,” she said over radio dzBB.

She noted that evacuation centers and schools have been prepared for displaced families but they are readying facilities for livestock.

Quiet eruption

There were 199 recorded rockfall events and six PDCs in Mayon Volcano in the past 24 hours as the active volcano continues to have a “quiet” eruption or an effusive magmatic eruption similar to 2014.

Phivolcs said the effusive magmatic eruption means that there is a breach in the lava dome in the crater summit, which is slowly creeping down the volcano slopes.

The PDCs, which lasted three to six minutes based on seismic and visual observations, are still confined to the Bonga (southeast) and Basud (east) gullies of the volcano. These events emplaced lava debris within two kilometers from the summit crater, and there was also thin light brown ash observed.

Moderate degassing from the summit crater also produced steam-laden plumes and a fair crater glow or “banaag” shed from new fluid lava was observed on Thursday night.

The agency clarified that this is not an explosive eruption and that Mayon is still under Alert Level 3. A hazardous eruption is possible within weeks or days, as the volcano is increasingly restive with magma at its crater.

Visible

The banaag “was visible to the naked eye and incandescent rockfall shed from new fluidal lava at the summit of Mayon Volcano were also observed last night,” Alanis said, adding that abnormal parameters of Mayon could lead to either the 2014 or 2018 eruption episodes.

“The 2018 eruption that also started slowly still went to a violent eruption episode. This is what we are trying to anticipate, that’s why we already advised the LGUs to evacuate their residents within and near the danger zones,” Alanis explained.

Phivolcs warned that under Alert Level 3, Mayon is currently in a relatively high level of unrest as magma is at the crater and hazardous eruption is possible within weeks or even days.

The Office of Civil Defense (OCD) and the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council also urged residents living within and near the danger zones of Mayon to heed warnings and follow orders to evacuate.

“We call on the communities in the area to always follow the warnings and orders of authorities such as the evacuation inside the six-kilometer radius PDZ,” OCD said.

The Department of Agriculture likewise called on farmers in Albay to prepare to evacuate. The DA gave assurance that the regional field office in Bicol, in coordination with other concerned agencies, is closely monitoring the situation at Mayon Volcano. It advised farmers to evacuate animals to safer areas and secure farm equipment and machineries.

According to the DA, the regional office is now conducting an inventory of livestock population inside the six-kilometer PDZ.

“Hauling trucks were already prepositioned in Tabaco City and Camalig, Albay Research Outreach Stations and updated seed reserves,” the DA said.

Ayuda

Social Welfare Secretary Rex Gatchalian yesterday assured the local officials in Albay province that the agency has been “aggressively managing the situation” on the ground and the regional office in Bicol has been on alert since the volcano started acting up.

Gatchalian said family food packs have been prepositioned in strategic warehouses in Albay “to make sure that the affected families will be swiftly given relief goods in the evacuation centers.”

The municipalities expected to be most affected by possible volcanic eruption are Guinobatan, Camalig, Daraga, Tabaco City, Malilipot, Sto. Domingo, Bacacay, Ligao City, Daraga and Legazpi City.

Gatchalian gave the assurance after Albay Rep. Joey Salceda sent a letter asking for food and non-food items for 37,108 individuals or 9,829 families that are expected to be evacuated.

Meanwhile, the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) has mobilized a humanitarian caravan to assist some 10,000 people in Albay who were displaced due to threat of a hazardous eruption of Mayon Volcano.

The PRC sent four water tankers, two water filtration units, tap stands, food trucks, two Travis multi-purpose vans with health supplies, three trucks with 2,500 sleeping and hygiene kits and a 6x6 truck carrying 2,500 jerry cans.

“We are always ready and prepared to help. We have tapped our RC143 volunteers in Albay to extend the needed support and our staff are also on the ground,” PRC chairman Richard Gordon said in a statement.

The PRC’s Albay chapter has dispatched its health caravan with trained medical personnel and set up first aid stations and welfare desks with nebulizers and blood pressure monitors in evacuation centers.

PRC secretary general Gwendolyn Pang organized teams in Albay and Batangas to respond at the soonest possible time to help residents.

Telcos get ready

Wireless leaders Smart Communications Inc. and Globe Telecom Inc. are preparing their support and technical teams in case connectivity services go down as a result of volcanic unrest.

In an advisory, Smart announced that it has started assembling its mission critical equipment and personnel after Phivolcs raised the alert levels on three volcanoes. Aside from Mayon, also on alert are Taal and Kanlaon volcanoes.

Globe, for its part, said that it has prepared network response and support teams to bring essential resources to communities that may be affected by the volcanic activities.

Meanwhile, the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) has updated its Notices to Airmen (NOTAM) to inform and alert aircraft amid the ongoing unrest at the Taal, Mayon and Kanlaon volcanoes.

According to NOTAM B2023/23, due to Mayon Volcano being on Alert Level 3 (increased tendency towards hazardous eruption), flight operations are advised to avoid flying close to the volcano’s summit as ash from any sudden eruption can be hazardous to aircraft.

NOTAM B2022/23 stated that due to Taal Volcano being on Alert Level 1 (low-level unrest), flight operations are advised to avoid flying close to the volcano’s summit as airborne ash and ballistic fragments from sudden explosions may pose hazard to aircraft.

NOTAM B2021/23 said that due to Kanlaon Volcano being on Alert Level 1 (abnormal condition), flight operations are advised to avoid flying close to the volcano’s summit due to possibilities of sudden and hazardous steam-driven or phreatic eruptions that are hazardous to aircraft. — Michael Punongbayan, Bella Cariaso, Elijah Felice Rosales, Sheila Crisostomo, Rudy Santos, Emmanuel Tupas Romina Cabrer