Mayon
Alert Level Raised to Three
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LEGAZPI - Residents were warned Saturday to keep away from
Mayon volcano as the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and
Seismology raised the alert level after lava trickled from its
crater overnight.
 "Alert
level three has been hoisted in the volcano over the past 24
hours," Alejo Baloloy, a science research analyst with the state
volcanology institute, told AFP.
"There has been an increased tendency [toward] a hazardous
eruption," he said, but ruled out a sudden, major eruption.
"Right now, we are on a mild eruption phase, with high
frequency tremors attributed to rockfalls by the detached lava
from the dome."
Mount Mayon, with Legazpi City in the
foreground.
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He predicted a major eruption could take place "within
weeks."
Alert level three of the five-step alert system means that
there is "relatively high unrest" in the volcano with volcanic
quakes and tremors expected to become frequent ahead of an
eruption.
Baloloy advised residents in towns and villages near the
2,462-meter (8,077-foot) tall volcano, famous for its
near-perfect cone shape, not to enter a six-kilometer (nearly
four mile) radius permanent danger zone.
Residents in the city of Legazpi, close to the volcano, said
glowing lava could be seen near Mayon's crater.
The volcano, about 300 kilometers (176 miles) southeast of
Manila, last had a major eruption in July 2001.
More than 1,000 people are believed to have perished when the
volcano erupted in 1814. AFP
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