Nearly 200,000 People Affected From Philippine Volcano

Manila Nearly 200,000 people in 124 villages in the northeastern Philippines were affected, with more than 5,400 fleeing huge ash clouds that rose over the weekend as lava deposits collapsed on the slopes of Mayon Volcano, officials said Monday.

Teresito Bacolcol, director of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, said there was no explosive eruption in Mayon, which has been erupting at gentle intervals since January, but before dark on Saturday, large lava accumulations on the southwestern slope suddenly flowed downward in a pyroclastic flow (an avalanche of hot rocks, ash and gas).

The rain, which occurred mostly in Albay province, took many people by surprise and slowed drivers down due to poor visibility, officials said.

“The ash rain was very heavy and visibility was zero even on our national road,” said Caloy Baldo, Mayor of the town of Camalig, located near the foothills of the volcano.

“Some villagers panicked, but we advised them to remain calm,” Baldo told The Associated Press.

Baldo said that vegetable farms were damaged by the ashfall that killed 4 buffaloes and a cow in Camalig, and that cleaning efforts are continuing in the town with a population of 8 thousand in Albay province.

The Ministry of Social Welfare and Development said at least 199,367 people in 124 villages were affected by black ash clouds moving away from the volcano, including more than 5,450 residents who fled to emergency shelters in the towns of Camalig and Malilipot and the cities of Ligao and Tabaco.

Deputy Minister of Social Welfare Irene Dumlao told a press conference that in addition to providing protective face masks and food packages, authorities were told to ensure adequate ventilation of evacuation centers due to the sweltering summer heat.

“The weather is calm again, but the danger is always there,” Bacolcol said of Mayon’s situation on Monday.

The 2,462-meter (8,077-foot) volcano is one of the Philippines’ top tourist attractions due to its near-perfect cone shape. But it is also the most active of the 24 volcanoes in the country.

Authorities raised the five-step alert around Mayon to level 3 in January after a series of mild explosions that caused intermittent rockfalls, some the size of cars, from the summit crater along with deadly pyroclastic flows.

Warning 5 means an explosive and life-threatening eruption is on the way, with deadly volcanic lava and pyroclastic flows and heavy ashfall.