Residents in Mayon danger areas to be relocated

LEGAZPI CITY, Philippines – After the evacuation of residents from areas threatened by the restive Mayon Volcano, Albay officials disclosed yesterday the plan to relocate permanently all the 2,898 families still residing within the six-kilometer radius permanent danger zone (PDZ).

Albay Gov. Joey Salceda said that the province would be spending some P360 million to permanently relocate the remaining families still living inside the danger zone six kilometers from the crater of Mayon.

Salceda said permanently removing these residents inside the PDZ is the most practical action to take to avoid perennially evacuating people every time Mayon turns restive.

He said Albay is spending some P352 million for an evacuation that would last at least 94 days, the average duration per eruption episode.

Volcanologists admitted that Mayon is now displaying a new behavior pattern that it did not exhibit in past eruptions, which includes a possibility that it would take longer period of inactivity before a full-blown eruption.

“If Mayon’s recent abnormal parameters would mean a longer stay of residents in the evacuation centers, it is best to instead house them in permanent relocation sites to continuously attain our zero casualty goal,” Salceda told The STAR.

Ed Laguerta, Bicol chief volcanologist of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs), said that the surface inflation of Mayon remained sustained based on yesterday’s ground deformation survey.

Phivolcs recorded only three volcanic earthquakes and two rock fall events, while sulfur dioxide (SO2) emission remained low at the previously measured volume of 148 tons a day.

Laguerta though explained that a higher number of volcanic earthquakes does not automatically mean the condition of Mayon has become more dangerous.

He said that the quality of detected volcanic quakes is more significant than its quantity or number in assessing the overall condition of Mayon.

“Harmonic or continuous tremors are more significant in determining if the volcano is already gearing up for an eruption than the ordinary volcanic quakes that we are now counting. One long harmonic tremor tells more of ongoing magma-ascent than two or more volcanic quakes that occur one after the other but do not signify the magnitude of the magma movement,” Laguerta explained.

He said that volcanic quakes might not precede an eruption, but harmonic tremors are always detected before a strong eruption.

He said Mayon is in a state of lull, but its sustained surface inflation indicates that magma or pressure build is going on inside the volcano.

“Mayon remains very abnormal that eruption may happen anytime,” Laguerta said.