Chances are higher for “potential explosive activity within weeks or even days.”

Phivolcs warned of potential hazards such as pyroclastic density currents, lava flows, rockfalls, ashfall, and lahar. There is a 6-kilometer-radius permanent danger zone surrounding the volcano.

Bookmark this page for Phivolcs bulletins, information on government response, updates about evacuations, and other news about Mayon Volcano.

The DTI in Bicol ordered strict enforcement of the price freeze as the threat of a major eruption by Mayon Volcano sent more than 4,000 families or 15,658 persons to evacuation camps in five towns and three cities.

A price freeze accompanies the declaration of a state of calamity, which Albay’s provincial board approved on June 9, a day after after Mayon Volcano’s status was raised to Alert Level 3.

The DTI also issued a guide on what goods are considered basic commodities.

Two days after the Sangguaniang Panlalawigan of Albay approved Resolution No. 0607-2023OIC, DTI regional director Dindo Galvo Nabol said Albay’s supply of basic commodities are sufficient for the next 30 days.

Nabol also issued the memorandum circular on the price freeze on June 9, addressing all wet markets, supermarkets, groceries, bakeries, and water refilling stations.

“When a state of calamity is declared in a particular area, prices of basic necessities (BN) are automatically frozen at their prevailing prices for sixty (60) days or until sooner lifted,” Nabol reminded business owners.

Violators of the price freeze could face fines from P5,000 to PhP1 million and or imprisonment of one year to ten years.

Farmers in Tabaco City, Albay scrambled over the weekend to harvest their crops within the six-kilometer radius permanent danger zone (PDZ) of the volcano.

Tabaco City Mayor Krisel Lagman-Luistro gave farmers the harvest green to allow them to gather food stock or generate income before a potentially deadly eruption.

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Farmers near Mayon Volcano rush to harvest crops

DOT-Bicol director Herbie Aguas identified safe viewing sites in Legazpi, Ligao, Camalig, and Daraga where visitors can have vantage points for observing the volcanic activity.

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Mayon unrest: What could happen to the volcano in 2023?

In Legazpi, the following locations have been recognized as safe viewing sites: 

• Legazpi Boulevard at a distance of 16.1 kilometers
• Sawangan Park at 14.7 kilometers
• Legazpi Highlands at 15.2 kilometers
• Kalayaan Park at 13.2 kilometers
• Our Lady of Salvacion Giant Statue at 11.1 kilometers

In Daraga town, the designated viewing sites include the following:

• Cagsawa Ruins Park at 10.38 kilometers
• Farm Plate at 14.38 kilometers
• Daraga Church at 12.01 kilometers
• National Museum at 10.18 kilometers

In Camalig town, the following are the identified areas for safe viewing:

• Solong Eco Park at 16.03 kilometers
• Quituinan Hill at 9.76 kilometers
• Quitinday Greenhills at 18.7 kilometers

Ligao City offers the following safe viewing sites: 

• Mt. Masaraga Campsite at 9.84 kilometers
• Paayahayan sa Bulod at 10 kilometers
• Kawa-Kawa Hill / Bambusetum / Divine Mercy Monastery Church at 19.7 kilometers
• Hobbit Hill at 9.79 kilometers
• Ilah Nature Park at 9.82 kilometers

With these designated safe viewing sites, the DOT aims to ensure the safety of tourists and spectators who wish to witness the volcanic activity in Albay.

Albay province earlier implemented an extended seven-kilometer radius permanent danger zone (PDZ) due to the increasing unrest of Mayon Volcano. 

Albay Governor Edcel Greco Lagman directed disaster risk reduction management offices to prepare for the evacuation of families within the radius. 

About 5,817 families or some 21,717 people, need to be evacuated from the extended danger zone. 

Some 4,749 families, or about 18,184 individuals, have already been evacuated to safer areas earlier. – Rappler.com

Amando Bon, a 53-year-old vegetable farmer from Barangay Buang in Tabaco City, is among those racing to gather his squash harvest from his three-hectare farm located within the six-kilometer radius permanent danger zone (PDZ) of the volcano. 

Following permission from Tabaco City Mayor Krisel Lagman-Luistro, Bon and fellow farmers in Buang village began harvesting their crops to salvage their products and generate income before a potentially deadly eruption.

“We allowed the farmers to harvest their crops so that it would not be wasted and for them to have money while in the temporary shelters,” Luistro said.

Bon said he considers himself fortunate that his vegetable plants were ready for harvest, while many other farmers in the area had only recently planted their crops. For them, it will take approximately two months before they can reap and sell their produce.

Harvesting alongside his 15-year-old son, Bon collected about 3,000 kilograms of squash from the volcano’s slopes. He transported the harvest near the roadside to attract prospective buyers.

“It will take a few months for us to plant again. This could be my last harvest,” he said.

Within a few days, the alert level for Mayon Volcano was raised from Level 2 to Level 3, as volcanologists expressed concerns about the likelihood of a hazardous eruption. 

Eugene Escobar, officer-in-charge of the Albay Public Safety Emergency Management Office, said 4,749 families or about 18,184 people living within the six-kilometer radius permanent danger zone, need to be evacuated to safer grounds based on the current alert level.

Escobar said if the Alert Level 4 is raised, at least 5,817 families or some 21,717 people, will need to be evacuated within a seven-kilometer radius.

Camalig town has the highest number of families residing within the current six-kilometer radius zone, with 2,144 families or 7,827 people across 18 barangays. 

Malilipot town follows with 1,866 families or 7,226 persons, while Daraga has 336 individuals. 

The towns of Guinobatan and Santo Domingo have no communities living within the danger zone.

Tabaco City, meanwhile, has the highest number of families to be evacuated, totaling 378 families or 1,434 people. 

Ligao City follows with 35 families or 132 individuals, while Legazpi City has no communities residing within the permanent danger zone.

Escobar said the provincial government has the capacity to support evacuees for a period of 10 days. Beyond that, the provincial government would seek assistance of the national government, he said.

Norman Laurio, the regional director of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), said the department has 50,656 food packs prepared for distribution. 

He said the DSWD central office also has 102,000 food packs that can be tapped if the need arises.

The Department of Education (DepEd) in the Bicol region said at least 39 schools will be utilized as temporary shelters.

Mayor Luistro said there are 290 farmers with crops ready for harvest, covering 27 hectares in Magapo village alone. 

Farmers within the six-kilometer radius danger zone were permitted to harvest their crops to cushion the impact and ensure their families had some income while they seek refuge in temporary shelters, Luistro told Social Welfare Secretary Rex Gatchalian during a meeting.

Luistro and other mayors from the affected municipalities called for livelihood support from the national government.

Albay Governor Edcel Greco Lagman said the provincial government would tap the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) to provide training opportunities for families currently residing in evacuation centers. 

Cheryl Rebeta, the chief of the Albay Provincial Agriculture Office (APAO), said the government would provide displaced families, especially those in evacuation centers, seeds so they could cultivate crops in backyard gardens.

Gatchalian said the DSWD will assist the people with emergency cash transfers and other interventions, such as cash-for-work programs, with the help of local governments. – Rappler.com

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) has provided four eruption scenarios for the volcano, given its current state of unrest.

But before that – here is an overview of what has happened so far:

Alert Level 2 was raised on Monday, June 5, triggered by a spike in rockfall events.

“Pronounced increases in rockfall signify the extrusion of new lava beneath the summit lava dome, destabilizing this and causing its spalling or collapse,” Phivolcs explained in a report covering Mayon activity in the first 10 days of June.

Extrusion means molten rock is being pushed out onto the surface. A lava dome, meanwhile, is an accumulation of “highly viscous lava above or near the vent/s where they were erupted during slow flow,” which Phivolcs likened to glue oozing out from a container’s hole.

While there was increasing rockfall at the time, volcanic earthquakes were “absent to sparse,” sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions were only at “background or baseline levels,” and “short-term ground deformation consisted mainly of swelling of the middle to upper slopes of the edifice.”

But on Thursday morning, June 8, Phivolcs observed pyroclastic density currents (PDCs) in the Bonga (Legazpi City), Mi-isi (Daraga), and Basud (Santo Domingo) gullies, or narrow valleys, as far as 2 kilometers from the summit crater.

PDCs are made up of fragmented volcanic particles, gases, and ash that travel down volcanic slopes at high speeds.

“This indicated that new, less degassed lava was already being spalled from the summit dome and that eruption of very slowly extruding magma had slightly increased,” Phivolcs said.

This prompted the agency to raise Alert Level 3 at noon on Thursday.

By early Saturday morning, June 10, a new summit lava dome had emerged from the crater, after its preexisting one was “pushed out in increments that formed rockfall.” As of 7 pm on Saturday, 654 rockfall events had been recorded for June, along with 7 PDCs.

Also on Saturday, SO2 emission “increased beyond baseline levels,” reaching an average of 1,205 tons per day.

What’s next?

At present, new lava is slowly flowing out of Mayon’s summit and SO2 emission is “moderately elevated,” while seismic and ground deformation parameters are still considered low.

Phivolcs has warned that “a hazardous eruption is possible within weeks or even days.” But it is impossible to predict with absolute certainty that this type of eruption will indeed occur.

One of the four scenarios shows Alert Level 3 will be maintained, two scenarios would mean the declaration of Alert Level 4, and the worst-case scenario will lead to the raising of Alert Level 5 – the highest.

Scenario A: Alert Level 3 will be maintained

If the current rate of extrusion and low-level parameters continue, there would be a slow lava dome and short lava flow extrusion, similar to Mayon’s 2014 eruption. The activity may persist for a few months.

Scenario B: Alert Level 4 will be raised

If extrusion rates increase, higher SO2 emission levels persist, seismic activity such as low-level tremors occur, and there is a cycle of inflation (swelling) and deflation (unswelling) of the edifice, there would be a slow but sustained lava extrusion, similar to the volcano’s 2006 eruption. The activity may last for a few months.

Scenario C: Alert Level 4 will be raised

If data show significant hikes in SO2 emission, increased seismicity (low-frequency volcanic earthquakes and tremors), and inflation of the entire edifice, there would be lava fountains and lava flows with occasional explosions and PDCs within the 6-kilometer permanent danger zone (PDZ), similar to Mayon’s 2018 eruption. The activity may last for a few months.

Scenario D: Alert Level 5 will be raised

If there is a rapid escalation – or sudden drop – in SO2, as well as a surge in volcanic earthquakes and ground deformation, this may lead to an explosive eruption with high-intensity lava fountains, long lava flows, and PDCs that could go beyond the PDZ, similar to the volcano’s 2000 eruption. The activity may last for a few days to weeks.

– Rappler.com

Mayon is located in Albay province in the Bicol region.

According to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs), 29 barangays in Albay have portions that are within the PDZ, based on 2016 administrative boundary data from the Philippine Statistics Authority.

These barangays, from three cities and six municipalities, are the following:

Tabaco City

• Oson
• Mariroc
• Comon
• Magapo
• Buang

Malilipot

• San Roque
• Calbayog
• Santa Cruz
• Canaway

Ligao City

• Baligang

Santo Domingo

• Fidel Surtida
• Lidong
• San Fernando
• Santa Misericordia

Camalig

• Sua
• Tumpa
• Anoling
• Quirangay

Daraga

• Mi-isi

Guinobatan

• Doña Tomasa (Magatol)
• Muladbucad Pequeño
• Muladbucad Grande
• Masarawag

Legazpi City

• Mabinit
• Buyuan
• Matanag
• Bonga
• Padang

Bacacay

• Bonga (Upper)

In times of relatively high volcanic unrest, Phivolcs recommends evacuation from the PDZ. Local government units then issue their respective evacuation orders for implementation. – Rappler.com

Based on the NDRRMC’s situation report released on Saturday morning, June 10, a total of 9,314 people or 2,638 families have been evacuated due to the volcanic activity. The families are staying in 21 evacuation centers.

Six cities and municipalities and 21 barangays are currently affected by Mayon’s unrest. The cities and municipalities of Camalig, Daraga, Ligao, Malilipot, and Tabaco have announced class suspensions.

A total of P1,076,350 ($19,193.31) worth of assistance has already been provided to the affected population as of June 10, according to the NDRRMC. The province of Albay also remains under a state of calamity.

Mayon Volcano’s unrest also prompted the mandatory evacuation of residents of two barangays of Guinobatan, the Albay Provincial Information Office said in a Facebook post on Saturday.

Residents of barangays Maninila and Tandadora, who live along the portions of Sitio Basyaw and Muladbucad Grande, were temporarily relocated to Mauraro High School and Guinobatan Community College in Barangay Mauraro in the same town.

According to Albay’s public information office, the said barangays are within the 6-kilometer permanent danger zone and the 7-kilometer extended danger zone.

In Ligao City, less than an hour away from Guinobatan, the local government had already implemented preemptive evacuation in Barangay Baligang on Friday, June 9.

On Saturday, Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Rex Gatchalian visited evacuation centers in the affected province. Gatchalian also convened the mayors of nine local government units currently or may be affected by the unrest.

“We are ready to handle all potential calamities. We want to make sure that we maximize our resources by ensuring that DSWD and the provincial local government unit of Albay complement each other and that there is no redundancy of services,” Gatchalian said.

On June 8, state volcanologists placed Mayon Volcano under Alert Level 3 – just three days after being placed under Alert Level 2. Alert Level 3 means there is an “increased tendency towards a hazardous eruption.”

Since February, Mayon’s southeastern middle and upper slopes have been swollen. – Rappler.com

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This pronouncement is in pursuance to Resolution No. 0607-2023 of the provincial board, the Albay Provincial Information Office said.

Mayon Volcano has been under Alert Level 3 since Thursday, June 8, which means it is “in a relatively high level of unrest,” according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology.

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