MANILA — Some 17,000 people living near Mayon volcano have moved to evacuation centers as it continued to erupt, the Albay local government said on Thursday.

Albay Governor Grex Lagman said 17,941 people or 5,016 families have left their homes to avoid the wrath of Mayon, which has been restive since early June.

Lagman earlier said local authorities were trying to improve living conditions at evacuation centers, most of which are schools and are not suited to house evacuees.

• Phivolcs: Mayon unrest may take months as thousands stay in evacuation centers

The Office of Civil Defense has provided 3 water filtration systems for evacuation centers, while the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) is also set to give them 40 to 50 units of solar-powered water filtration and purification systems, the governor said.

Watch more News on iWantTFC

A 5-step alert system for the volcano was raised to 3 from 2 last week.

Some 33,000 residents may be forced to flee their homes should Mayon be placed under Alert 4, Lagman said on Wednesday.

• Albay local gov’t braces for Mayon Volcano alert level shift

Two volcanic earthquakes and 306 rockfall events were recorded around Mayon in the past 24 hours, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said in an 8 a.m. bulletin.

Mayon also continued to spew steam-laden plumes that rose some 700 meters, while lava or molten rocks oozed slowly about a kilometer down from its crater.

• Phivolcs says 'more vigorous' Mayon eruption possible

Located about 330 kilometers southeast of Manila, Mayon is considered one of the most volatile of the country's 24 active volcanoes.

Earthquakes and volcanic activity are common in the Philippines due to its position on the Pacific "Ring of Fire" where tectonic plates collide.

Five years ago, Mayon displaced tens of thousands of people after spewing millions of tonnes of ash, rocks and lava.

— With a report from Agence France-Presse