Thieves cripple Phivolcs facilities near Mayon

State volcanologists monitoring the restive Mayon Volcano in Bicol face more difficulty communicating with their headquarters in Metro Manila after thieves took about 30 meters of their office's telephone lines. "The copper wire (in telephone cables) may be worth a few hundred pesos but it may spell the difference between life and death for residents near Mayon," said Ernesto Corpus, chief of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) monitoring team. Phivolcs officials in Legaspi City rely on landline phones to update its main office on the condition of Mayon Volcano, which intensified its activity in the past weeks. It was the second incident of theft in two weeks at the Phivolcs-Bicol office in Legaspi City. Thieves also stole the agency's telephone lines earlier this month. Phivolcs had also fallen victim to thieves who took its observation equipment months ago. All incidents have been reported to the local police. Authorities said the incident likely occurred Sunday afternoon but Phivolcs only discovered it Monday morning. "We cannot transmit our observations to headquarters, or field questions from Metro Manila for updates," a Phivolcs official said. Senior Superintendent Roque Ramirez, provincial director for Albay, went to the Phivolcs station there to investigate the incident. Meanwhile, Mayon Volcano on Monday morning continued to discharge lava from its summit crater. Authorities have also advised residents within the seven-kilometer Permanent Danger Zone around Mount Mayon to prepare for evacuation as the volcano continued to show signs of high activity. "Residents near areas facing the south-southeast portion of the volcano and within seven kilometers of the crater were advised to be prepared for evacuation," Phivolcs said in an advisory. Corpus said an explosion from Mayon Volcano would likely within a month after the volcano emitted more sulfur dioxide and recorded tremors associated with lava flow in the last 24 hours. "We are not 100 percent sure when Mayon will explode. Each volcano has its own characteristics. But within a month, we expect a high probability of an explosion," he said. The advisory stated that Mayon was emitting some 7,020 tons of sulfur dioxide a day, while more than 324 tremor episodes were detected and eleven volcanic earthquakes occurred in the past 24 hours. Phivolcs said that while clouds covered the volcano during most of the observation period, ground vibrations suggested that effusive activity remained unabated. "The front of the main lava flow in the Bonga gully was estimated to have reached the 560-meter elevation, about 4.0 aerial kilometers from the summit crater ... Smaller flows to either side of the main lava flow, in the upper reaches of the Miisi, Mabinit and Buyoan channels, remained farther upslope," Phivolcs said. Alert Level 3 remains in effect at Mayon, which means that the Permanent Danger Zone should be off-limits. Areas just beyond the PDZ in the southeast sector facing Bonga Gully, especially Mabinit, Bonga, Matanag and Buyoan villages in the southeast and Miisi to the south should be vigilant because rockfalls, lava flows and small rock avalanches or pyroclastic flows may impact these areas.-GMANews.TV