About 10,000 people living less than four miles from the Mayon volcano in the northeastern Philippines’ Albay province have left their homes because of the rising risk of an eruption, authorities said on Friday.
About half of the 20,000 people who have homes within a radius of less than four miles — a distance Philippine authorities have labeled unsafe — have decided to leave their homes, says a worker from a neighborhood in the town of Daraga, near Mayon . EFE news agency.
Some residents are afraid to leave their homes in this city due to possible theft of their personal belongings and livestock.
The Philippine Seismological Bureau (Phivolcs) this Friday warned of the continued fall of volcanic rock and increased seismic activity, as well as sulfur dioxide emissions.
The agency, which increased the warning from 2 to 3 on Thursday [de um total de 5]has not yet enforced the evacuation of people around Mayon, but has recommended residents leave due to the high risk of a volcanic eruption.
On Thursday evening, small lava flows descended from the volcano, whose almost perfect conical shape is one of the main attractions of the province of Albay (Island of Luzon), and the capital, Legazpi, is only 18 km from Mayon.
West of the same island of Luzon, Taal Volcano continues to emit toxic gases, increasing the number of people with respiratory problems in neighboring villages.
Increased seismic activity – which Phivolcs says has continued for the past 24 hours – has put authorities on alert due to its proximity to Manila [cerca de 80 quilómetros].
For their part, Philippine airport authorities on Monday banned aircraft from flying over the vicinity of Mayon and Taal volcanoes, within a radius of 3,048 kilometers.
The latest eruptions of Taal and Mayon, in 2020 and 2018 respectively, forced the evacuation of tens of thousands of people and kept the residents of Manila and Legazpi on high alert for days.
Source: DN
