Some 10,000 people living within six kilometers of the Mayon volcano in Albay province in the northeastern Philippines have fled their homes due to the growing risk of an eruption, authorities said Friday.
Nearly half of the 20,000 people who have homes within a radius of less than six kilometers – a distance that the Philippine authorities have designated as unsafe – have decided to leave their homes, said an employee in a neighborhood in the city of Daraga, close to the Mayon.
Some residents are afraid to leave their homes in this city in the face of a possible theft of their personal belongings and livestock.
The Philippine seismological agency (Phivolcs) warned this Friday of the continued fall of volcanic rocks and the increase in seismic activity, as well as the emission of sulfur dioxide.
The agency, which on Thursday raised the alert from 2 to 3 [de um total de 5]It has not yet forced the evacuation of people around Mayon, but has recommended that residents leave due to the high risk of a volcanic eruption.
During the night of Thursday, 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 its capital, Legazpi, is only 18 kilometers from Mayon.
To the west of the same island of Luzon, the Taal volcano continues to emit toxic gases, which has caused an increase in the number of people with respiratory problems in neighboring towns.
The increased seismic activity, which has continued for the past 24 hours according to Phivolcs, has authorities on high alert due to its proximity to Manila. [cerca de 80 quilómetros].
For its part, the airport authorities of the Philippines prohibited planes on Monday from flying over the surroundings of the Mayon and Taal volcanoes, within a radius of 3,048 kilometers.
The last eruptions of Taal and Mayon, in 2020 and 2018 respectively, forced the evacuation of tens of thousands of people and kept the inhabitants of Manila and Legazpi on high alert for several days.
Source: TSF
