Thousands of residents in the Philippines have been evacuated following an eruption of Mayon Volcano, prompting authorities to raise the alert level to 3 on the country's five-step warning system. The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) reported "strombolian activity and short-lived lava fountaining" from the highly active volcano.
The eruption, which occurred on May 3, led to the immediate evacuation of nearly 1,500 families, now housed in designated evacuation centers. Phivolcs has advised the public to strictly observe the 6-kilometer radius Permanent Danger Zone (PDZ) around Mayon's crater due to the risk of landslides, rockfalls, avalanches, and lava flows.
Heavy ashfall blanketed several towns in Albay province on May 2, causing significant disruptions. Reduced visibility created hazardous driving conditions, and local police distributed face masks to affected residents, urging them to limit outdoor exposure. The ashfall also impacted agriculture, burying rice fields nearing harvest and temporarily disrupting water supply as resources were diverted for road-clearing operations.
The Civil Aviation Authority has issued a flight safety advisory, imposing airspace restrictions above Manila as a precautionary measure. This is to mitigate potential hazards to aircraft from volcanic ash, airborne particles, and sudden volcanic activity, which can interfere with engine and navigation systems. Phivolcs recorded 32 volcanic earthquakes within a 24-hour period, indicating ongoing unrest.
Mayon, standing at 2,463 meters (8,007 feet), is renowned for its near-perfect conical shape and is the most active of the Philippines' 24 volcanoes, having erupted nearly 50 times in the last four centuries. Its history includes a devastating eruption in February 1841 that claimed 1,200 lives and buried an entire town, and another in 1993 that killed 79 people. The last magmatic eruption in June 2023 spewed large volumes of lava and noxious gases.
