WATCH: Thousands flee rumbling Mayon Volcano
Cloud-covered Mayon volcano spews ash as it erupts near the Philippine city of Legazpi in Albay province, early on January 16, 2018. Thousands fled from their homes as lava oozed out of a rumbling Philippine volcano on January 15 in what volcanologists described as a "quiet eruption", warning it could lead to a hazardous explosion within days. AFP/Charism Sayat
ALBAY, Philippines — Thousands living near Mayon Volcano were ordered evacuated after the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology warned that hazardous eruption is possible within days.
Lava was slowly flowing out of the Mayon Volcano's crater along with a spectacular 1,000-metre (3,280-foot) ash plume rising into the sky, Philvolcs said.
More than 12,000 people have been ordered to leave a seven-kilometre (four-mile) danger zone around the crater due to risk of rock falls, landslides and sudden explosions, as well as dome collapse that could generate hazardous volcanic mudflows know as lahar.
Mayon, a near-perfect cone that draws thousands of tourists, even during minor eruptions, rises 2,460 metres (8,070 feet) above a largely agricultural region some 330 kilometres southwest of Manila.
It is considered the country's most active volcano.
- with AFP
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