Evacuation on as Philippine volcano spews ash, rocks

Published June 12, 2023
FILIPINO evacuees take shelter in a classroom converted into an evacuation site, following the increased alert level of Mayon Volcano on Sunday.—Reuters
FILIPINO evacuees take shelter in a classroom converted into an evacuation site, following the increased alert level of Mayon Volcano on Sunday.—Reuters

DARAGA: Thousands of people living near a Philippine volcano have taken shelter in evacuation centres as officials warned on Sunday of health risks from ash and toxic gases spewing from the rumbling crater.

Seismology researchers said they had recorded at least one volcanic earthquake in the past 24 hours and red-hot rocks were falling from Mount Mayon in the central province of Albay.

More than 12,800 people have been moved to evacuation centres, the Philippine civil defence office said, most from farming villages at or near the foot of the volcano.

“We’re away from our home, but it’s still better here because it’s too dangerous,” mother-of-two Rachel Ramirez, 30, said during her third day at a school near the town of Daraga that had been turned into an emergency shelter.

Mayon, about 330 kilometres southeast of the capital Manila, is considered one of the most volatile of the country’s 24 active volcanoes. The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said rocks were falling from a disintegrating lava dome being pushed out of the crater by molten material below the earth. The rocks were raining down on areas up to two kilometres away and sulphur dioxide emissions had tripled on Saturday, state volcanologists said.

“There is a concomitant health risk while being close to the eruption because of inhaling sulphur dioxide gas or the particulate matter of ashfalls,” Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa told a press briefing Sunday.

On Thursday a five-step alert system for the volcano had been raised from two to three. “With Albay in a state of calamity due to Mayon’s activity, we remind people to follow the recommendations and evacuation instructions of your local governments,” Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos said on Saturday.

Published in Dawn, June 12th, 2023

Opinion

Editorial

Anything goes
Updated 13 Jan, 2025

Anything goes

With social media companies abandoning moderation efforts, dark days of freewheeling internet have seemingly returned.
Odious trade
13 Jan, 2025

Odious trade

WHEN home feels like a sinking ship, people are forced to make ill-fated journeys for a better life. Last month,...
Treasure of the Indus
13 Jan, 2025

Treasure of the Indus

THE Indus dolphin, or bulhan as it is known locally, is a remarkable species found only in the Indus River. Unlike...
Increased inflows
Updated 12 Jan, 2025

Increased inflows

Govt must devise a strategy to increase industrial and agricultural productivity to boost exports and reduce reliance on uncertain remittances.
Gwadar’s potential
12 Jan, 2025

Gwadar’s potential

THE Gwadar deep-sea port, completed in 2007, was supposed to be a shining success for the other newly built ports in...
Broken metropolis
12 Jan, 2025

Broken metropolis

KARACHI, Pakistan’s economic juggernaut, is the largest contributor to the nation’s tax revenue. The Federal...