Philippine volcano spews more ash, lava with increasing intensity

Fri, 18 Dec 2009

Manila - A volcano in the eastern Philippines Friday spewed more ash and lava with increasing intensity as authorities rushed to evacuate homes at the foot of the mountain. The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said Mayon volcano in Albay province, 360 kilometers south-east of Manila, was also rocked by nearly 250 earthquakes overnight.

July Sabit, a resident volcanologist in Albay, said at least seven ash explosions occurred at Mayon on Friday morning alone.

"These are indications that the activity of Mayon is intensifying," he said.

"The possibility of hazardous volcanic eruption is high," the institute said in a bulletin.

More than 35,000 residents have been moved to 25 evacuation centers in eight municipalities around Mayon, famous for its almost perfect cone, according to the Office of Civil Defense.

The office said nearly 12,000 people still needed to evacuate their homes.

Amid reports that some residents were refusing to move, soldiers and police officers were deployed to the endangered communities to assist in the forced evacuation.

The security forces also "strictly enforced checkpoints at strategic areas to ensure that nobody enters the danger zone at any time" with some residents returning at night to check on their homes.

The 2,472-meter volcano has erupted about 50 times since 1616. It last erupted in July 2006, forcing more than 30,000 people to flee their homes.

Mayon's most violent eruption was in 1814 when more than 1,200 people were killed and a town was buried in volcanic mud. An eruption in 1993 killed 79 people.