Mayon Volcano status lowered to Alert Level 3

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) on Tuesday announced the lowering of Mayon Volcano's status to Alert Level 3.

PHIVOLCS said Mayon Volcano's status was lowered from Alert Level 4 (hazardous eruption imminent) to Alert Level 3 because of "decreased tendency towards hazardous eruption."

Notice for the lowering of Mayon Volcano's status from Alert Level Alert Level 3. pic.twitter.com/36mVEswjdM

— PHIVOLCS-DOST (@phivolcs_dost) March 6, 2018

"Mayon Volcano’s condition in the past week has been characterized by a general decline in unrest reflected by moderate seismicity and degassing, deflation of the edifice and a decrease in eruptive activity at the summit crater," the agency said.

Mayon will continue to generate "volcanic earthquakes, magmatic gas output and weak surface processes such as sporadic degassing and lava effusion events, steam-driven explosions, rockfall and PDCs, while shallow remnant magma rests within the edifice" under Alert Level 3.

Sudden explosions, lava collapses, pyroclastic density currents (PDCs), and ashfall are still possible in the upper to middle slopes of Mayon.

The agency recommended that entry into the six-kilometer danger zone and a precautionary seven kilometer-radius Extended Danger Zone in the south-southwest to east-northeast sector, from Anoling, Camalig to Sta. Misericordia, Sto. Domingo, should still be prohibited.

Perenially lahar prone areas in the southern and eastern sectors should also be avoided in the event of heavy and prolonged rainfall, and pilots warned of airborne ash and ballistic fragments from sudden explosions.

PHIVOLCS first detected an eruption from Mayon on January 13 and raised its Alert Level from 2 to 3 the following day due to increasing unrest.

A state of calamity was raised over Albay in January 16.

Alert Level 4 was raised over the volcano on January 22 due to successive phreatic eruptions followed by continuous lava fountaining, degassing and lava flows. —Rie Takumi/ALG/KG, GMA News