New lava flow cascades down Mayon; quakes spike

MANILA, Philippines — New lava flow from Mayon Volcano that cascaded 600 kilometers from the crater has been monitored.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said lava flows along the Mi-isi gully in Daraga and Bonga in Legazpi City, on the other hand, reached 2,800 and 2,400 meters, respectively, yesterday.

Paul Alanis, Phivolcs resident volcanologist at the Lignon Hill Observatory in Legazpi, said the longer and new lava flows occurred during three days of zero visual observation of the volcano due to thick clouds.

“We failed to have a visual observation of Mayon in the past three days... When we measured the lava flows when the volcano became visible yesterday, we collected these new data,” he said.

Phivolcs said the number of volcanic earthquakes increased again yesterday afternoon, totaling 573.

The volcanic quakes have increased from nine on Sunday to 184 on Monday and 267 early yesterday.

Sulfur dioxide emissions were also high at 2,212 tons compared to 1,689 tons on Monday.

At least 150 rockfall events and three dome collapse generated pyroclastic density currents were also recorded.

Alanis said the abnormal parameters indicate that Mayon’s unrest continued to escalate.

He said state seismologists continue to analyze these parameters to determine if there are abrupt changes that may lead to a strong explosion.

Phivolcs reiterated its warning that since Mayon is under Alert Level 3, hazardous eruption is possible within weeks or days.

Evacuees’ mental health

Meanwhile, apart from attending to those diagnosed with respiratory infections, the Department of Health (DOH) said it would check on the mental health of Mayon evacuees.

“We are set to monitor the mental health of those in evacuation camps since we have not received any report on that yet. There could be cases. But for now, we can’t tell how serious are these,” DOH Undersecretary Eric Tayag said.

He said prolonged stay in evacuation centers can affect a person’s mental health.

“No one will be comfortable being in evacuation centers since this is not their familiar environment, especially those who want to immediately go back to their normal routine,” Tayag said.

He encouraged evacuees, especially pregnant women, to seek help when they experience mental health problems.

Latest data showed that 5,392 families or 18,826 people remain in 27 evacuation centers across Albay. — Rhodina Villanueva