Mayon spews 4.8-km high ash column in another day of intense activity

Mayon Volcano threw up a gigantic ash column early Friday evening in another day of intense volcanic activity.

From Legazpi Bay in Albay, residents and tourists watched restive Mayon Volcano doing a pyroclastic show at sundown.

^{M. Navales}

Earlier, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) said that pyroclastic flow was intense but sporadic over a span of 24 hours from late Thursday to early Friday.

It said that rising plumes went up to 4.8 kilometers high. 

As of Friday, the number of evacuees rose to 80,000, a report on Super Radyo dzBB said on Saturday morning.

However, the eruption has prompted a significant increase in tourist arrivals, the report added.

A search on previous Mayon eruptions shows that in 2014, at least 63,000 people were evacuated from Albay volcano's wrath. In 2006 some 30,000 fled their homes, and the 1993 eruption left 70 people dead. —Mark Navales/LBG, GMA News