Quiet eruption may turn violent 'anytime': Phivolcs

MANILA (2nd UPDATE) — Some 20,000 people moved to evacuation centers while at least 628 sought medical evacuation due to the unrest of Mayon volcano in Albay, authorities said on Monday.

Residents displaced by Albay were staying in 28 evacuation centers, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said.

Medical consultations conducted for 628 evacuees were mostly due to cough, colds, fever, and headache, the NDRRMC said.

Mayon did not record any volcanic earthquake in the last 24 hours, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said.

However, Mayon continued to ooze lava or molten rocks, and spewed ash and debris 5 times in the last 24 hours. It also emitted 889 tons of sulfur dioxide and logged 265 rockfall events, Phivolcs said in its 5 a.m. report.

"Iyong state of unrest niya ngayon is largely similar ng 2014 eruption, which was a quiet eruption, effusive eruption. However, there could be changes anytime and again, this may progress into a violent eruption," Phivolcs Director Teresito Bacolcol told TeleRadyo.

(Its state of unrest is largely similar to its 2014 eruption.)

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The 2014 eruption lasted from August to November, he noted.

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

According to the Department of Science and Technology, Mayon's ongoing unrest could also last for 3 months.

"The slower the activity of the volcano, the longer the eruption will be but that will not be a dangerous eruption, it will not be very explosive," DOST Secretary Renato Solidum told ANC's "Headstart".

"But if the eruption will be fast, it's usually explosive. So, we don't want to really have people to stay in the danger area. So, in the long term, the provincial government is looking at trying to have a permanent solution by relocating people," he added.

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.

Mayon lies in a region also hit by many of the roughly 20 typhoons or tropical storms to strike the Philippines each year. The frequent weather disasters often kill people, ravage farms, and help to keep millions poor.

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Meanwhile, the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) said the government is already studying the possibility of relocating residents living within Mayon's 6-kilometer permanent danger zone.

"Dapat mas permanente talaga na iyong paninirahan diyan ay huwag nang mangyari kasi talagang namemeligro po ang buhay nila," OCD Administrator Ariel Nepomuceno said in a public briefing.

(Living within that area should be permanently banned. Otherwise, it will only put their lives under constant danger.)

But Nepomuceno said the proposal was still under discussion.

"Pero nauunawaan natin, talagang mahirap po ang sitwasyon ng mga kababayan natin doon. Kailangan po nilang maghanapbuhay, at marami naman po diyang nakatira diyan sa area bago pa man magkaroon ng patakaran na bawal sila sa 6-kilometer [permanent danger zone]," he added.

(But we understand the plight of our fellowmen there. They need to earn a living, and many of them had already been living in the area even before it was declared a permanent danger zone.)

— With a report from Agence France-Presse