LEGAZPI CITY , Philippines – Mayon volcano spewed ash yesterday, showing new seismic activity since its last mild eruption in 2006, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said.
Jaime Sincioco, officer-in-charge of the Phivolcs’ Volcano Monitoring and Eruption Prediction Division, said three minor ash explosions lasting for about three minutes were recorded at Mayon’s summit crater at around 5:37 a.m.
Sincioco said the explosions produced a brownish ash column that rose to a maximum of about 700 meters above the crater and drifted to the southwest.
“The brownish color indicates that there is minimal ash content,” Sincioco told The STAR.
“Steam emission varied from weak to moderate that drifted north-northwest and east-northeast,” he said.
Since alert level 2 was raised around the volcano, Sincioco said ash explosions or hazardous magmatic eruptions are possible.
He said 11 volcanic earthquakes were recorded at Mayon in the past 24 hours. – Helen Flores, Celso Amo and Cet Dematera