Phivolcs raises alert on possible Mayon eruption

LEGAZPI CITY, Philippines – The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology allayed fears yesterday of an impending major eruption of Mayon Volcano but the agency continued to advice residents living near the volcano to take the necessary precautions.

Phivolcs raised the alert on Mayon after it observed abnormal conditions, including its glowing crater, which is visible at night.

If the recent pattern of Mayon Volcano is to be considered, then it is likely to erupt anytime, Alex Baloloy, a resident volcanologist at Lignon Hill Observatory here said yesterday.

Baloloy, who had been observing the volcano the past two decades, said the established patterns of Mayon during its recent eruptions are three to five years, a new pattern compared to five to 10 years dating much earlier.

“If we will consider this recent pattern, Mayon is likely to erupt anytime,” he said.

In a separate interview, Ed Laguerta, resident volcanologist of the Phivolcs here, said the possibility of Mayon erupting is not remote if its three to five years recent eruption pattern is the reckoning factor.

Mayon erupted in 1984, 1993, 1998, 2000, 2001 and 2006. It has an eruption interval of three to five years from 1993, the year where it claimed the lives of 78 farmers.

Laguerta, however, admitted that the abnormal parameters being displayed by the volcano are not sustained enough to show that it is going to erupt.

“The seismicity and the crater glow are still both fluctuating at this point. So it is too early to make a prediction about a full blown eruption,” he said during a radio interview.

Based on yesterday’s Phivolcs bulletin, at least 18 volcanic earthquakes were detected over Mayon, with its slopes inflated from four to 10 millimeters.

Laguerta said they are taking close up shots of the crater glow, when the summit is fully displayed at night, to observe whether a dome is already developing at the volcano’s 150-meter wide crater.

Cedric Daep, chief of Albay Provincial Safety and Emergency Management Office, said they are already preparing for the contingency plans in case Phivolcs raise its present alert level 1 to 2.

Albay Gov. Joey Salceda reminded residents to refrain from venturing within the declared no man’s land, or at least four-kilometers away from the crater.

Salceda issued the warning following reports of continuing human activities, mostly of farmers, within the danger area.

Disaster risk reduction pushed

Moreover, Sen. Loren Legarda, United Nations champion for disaster risk reduction in Asia Pacific, yesterday appealed to governments to “invest in risk reduction” to save millions of lives and trillions of dollars in annual natural disasters.

Legarda made the appeal during a one-hour worldwide broadcast by British Broadcasting Corp. of the World Debate forum as a media event of the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction held in Geneva, Switzerland.

As a panelist in the lively World Debate anchored by Nik Gowing, BBC world senior presenter, Legarda said that “good governance” was at the center of reducing risks of casualties and damages in natural disasters. She appealed to governments to play an active role in preventing and reducing risks, as well as in reacting to them.

She disagreed with the notion that governments are largely helpless in preventing and reducing risks from disasters.

Legarda added that governments, especially those of developing countries, should invest in disaster risk reduction by integrating the program in their national budgets and development agenda. – With Christina Mendez