MANILA — A volcano in the Philippines where five climbers died last month is showing signs of renewed activity, prompting authorities to boost alert levels.
MANILA — A volcano in the Philippines where five climbers died last month is showing signs of renewed activity, prompting authorities to boost alert levels.
Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) director Renato Solidum said in a radio interview with DZMM Saturday that the alert level for the volcano Mayon was raised to 1 from 0 after geologists observed crater glow and emission of more gas.
The alert scale goes up to 5, which is a hazardous eruption. Level 1 means abnormal events have been recorded.
On May 7, five people — including three German nationals, a Spaniard from Germany and a local tour guide — were killed when the volcano spewed rocks, ash and smoke in a steam-driven eruption.
Solidum said that, for the last two evenings, reddish light, or crater glow, has been observed at the volcano, which is famous for its perfect cone.
He said raising the alert status of Mayon is a “precaution to the public that the volcano is exhibiting abnormal behavior.”
He said the Phivolcs ordered local officials to prevent entry to a permanent danger zone in the area stretching in a 3.7-mile radius because of a “perennial danger of life-threatening rockfalls, avalanches, ash puffs and steam-driven eruptions.”
Solidum said he cannot discount the possibility of eruption. He said, though it may take months or even a year, the possibility of eruption is there as long as crater glow is present.