Mayon still restless, spewing out lava and degassing

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology on Friday said Mayon Volcano has had continuous lava fountaining, lava flow, and degassing from the summit crater in the past 24 hours.

In its 8 a.m. bulletin, PHIVOLCS said 69 lava fountaining episodes have been recorded since 12:35 p.m. of Wednesday.

These episodes lasted from three minutes to 233 minutes and came with rumbling and heaving sounds which could be heard even 10 kilometers beyond the summit crater.

The lava fountains were observed to be 100 meters tall with steam-laden plumes rising up to 800 meters from the summit.

PHIVOLCS added there were lava flows and rockfalls in the Miisi and Bonga-Buyuan channels.

These lava flows have gone down to 3.3 kilometers in Miisi, 4.5 kilometers in Bonga, and 900 meters in Basud Gullies from the summit crater.

As for pyroclastic density currents, deposits have reached Miisi (4.6 kilometers), Bonga (4.5 kilometers), and Basud (4.2 kilometers) Gullies.

PHIVOLCS also recorded 54 volcanic earthquakes mostly during the lava fountaining episodes.

On Thursday, sulfur dioxide gas emission was at an average of 2526 tonnes/day.

The agency also observed sustained swelling or inflation of the volcano since October 2017 due to pressure from magma.

Fair weather on Friday allowed residents and visitors to have an unobstructed view of Mayon Volcano, according to a report on Unang Balita on Friday by Ivan Mayrina.

PHIVOLCS said Alert Level 4 is still up over Mayon.

It advised the public to be vigilant and avoid entering the eight-kilometer-radius danger zone.

The agency also warned against pyroclastic density currents, lahars, and sediment-laden stream flows.

The Philippine Red Cross led by its chairman, Senator Richard Gordon, is set to visit the evacuation center in Guinobatan, Albay on Friday. —KG, GMA News