The Philippines’ most active volcano, Mount Mayon, is spewing lava and sulphurous gas, raising fears of an explosion and causing thousands of residents to flee.
Residents within a seven-kilometer (4.3-mile) radius of the volcano have been placed on “standby status” and should be ready to evacuate at any time, the Albay Provincial Information Office said on Monday. As of Monday, more than 12,600 people have already evacuated farming communities within a six-kilometer radius of the volcano.
The volcano began showing increased activity over the weekend that continued through Monday evening local time. Authorities on Friday declared a state of emergency in Albay province to allow for faster distribution and use of disaster relief funds in the event of a volcanic eruption.
Officials on Thursday upgraded the volcano’s alert status to Level 3 on a five-point scale, suggesting a dangerous eruption is possible in the coming days or weeks.
Albay Province community leaders are discussing establishing more resettlement sites and permanent shelters for families affected by the evacuations.
In the Philippines, which lies on the Pacific Ring of Fire, there are around 300 volcanoes, 24 of which are active. One of them is Mount Mayon, known for its picturesque conical shape. The last violent eruption was in 2018, when the volcano was put on alert level 4 and more than 74,000 people were evacuated.