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The authorities on Tuesday began evacuation of thousands of residents living near the most active volcano in Philippines as the lava dribbled down its slopes signalling a dangerous eruption.
“A hazardous eruption is possible within weeks,” Renato Solidum, the director of the state volcanology agency, said.
Volcano Mayon on Tuesday began stirring again with magma, rising up to its top-most level, while small earthquakes began rattling deep inside.
Mayon is known for its brutal volatility and perfect cone.
Regional civil defence director Bernardo Alejandro said that all the residents living within a five-mile radius will be forcibly evacuated.
According to Alejandrom, the authorities have planned to carry evacuation of almost all of the 50,000 people currently in the danger zone within three days.
“We’ll have no problems with the 99 percent who will evacuate but there are some who will be hard-headed,” Alejandro said while citing a similar evacuation response in 2009.
Alejandro said that they will face problem in evacuating few people as they refuse to leave their houses and their livelihood.
Meanwhile, the local people who are involved in the tourist sector were expecting the latest burst in Mayon to be a mini-boom.
The region which is spread about 330 kilometres (200 miles) southeast of Manila is a big attraction for visitors who wish to see Mayon’s cone.
But the 2,460-metre (8,070-foot) Mayon is involved with a long history of fatal eruptions.
In May 2013, the Mayon eruption had killed five people, including four foreign tourists and their local tour guide.
In 1814, over 1,200 people were killed when the town of Cagsawa was buried by the lava flow.
The August 2006 explosion, however, did not cause any direct deaths but a passing typhoon four months later unleashed an avalanche of volcanic mud from the slopes of Mayon killing 1,000 people.
