Overview
- The eruption, which began at 11:53 a.m. and lasted nearly six minutes on Friday, October 30, sent a roughly 3,000-metre ash column that drifted west-south-west toward Daraga and Guinobatan.
- The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology raised Mayon to Alert Level 3 and recommended evacuation of communities inside the 6 km Permanent Danger Zone.
- PHIVOLCS said Mayon has entered a new magmatic phase that increases the chance of lava flows and hazardous pyroclastic density currents on the volcano’s upper to middle slopes over the coming days to weeks.
- There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage, but authorities advised pilots to avoid the area because ash can harm aircraft and the Civil Aviation Authority had not issued a Notice to Airmen in the initial bulletins.
- Mayon is one of the Philippines’ most active volcanoes at about 2,462 metres, and past unrest has forced large evacuations and caused ash and lahar hazards that threaten health, crops and local travel during the period of heightened activity.