Crater glow seen on Mayon Volcano, Alert Level 3 still in effect

A crater glow, locally known as “banaag,” was observed at the summit of Mayon Volcano on Wednesday evening, according to PHIVOLCS.

In an advisory, PHIVOLCS said that the crater glow was spotted between 6:36 PM and 7:00 PM last Wednesday. This occurred as “superheated volcanic gas from new magma lit up the atmosphere above the crater,” PHIVOLCS said.

State volcanologists also reported the presence of an incandescent lava dome at the crater, with newly laid material from rockfalls and short pyroclastic density currents (PDCs), or “uson,” has been shed from the dome into the Bonga Gully.

Alert Level 3 remains in effect over Mayon after it was first raised on Tuesday, Jan. 6.

PHIVOLCS continues to recommend that the public avoid entry into the volcano’s six-kilometer Permanent Danger Zone (PDZ).

Ma. Antonia “Mariton” V. Bornas, chief of the PHIVOLCS Volcano Monitoring and Eruption Prediction Division, said that PDCs from Mayon are extremely dangerous because they can affect areas within the six-kilometer radius.

PHIVOLCS defines PDCs as a mixture of fragmented particles, hot gases, and ash that rush down volcanic slopes or rapidly outward from a source vent at high speeds.

“This is new magma that contains a lot of volcanic gas and is semi-fluidal, almost like a liquid. When its sides collapse, it produces very hazardous pyroclastic density currents,” Ms. Bornas said in an interview in Filipino.

PDCs are considered life-threatening because their temperatures can reach 1,000 degrees Celsius, which can incinerate everything in their path.

Mayon Volcano has shown high levels of activity according to the PHIVOLCS 24-hour monitoring period from Tuesday to Wednesday.

The volcano recorded one volcanic earthquake, 162 rockfall events, and 50 PDCs.

A 200-meter-tall plume characterized by moderate emissions was also generated, drifting northeast.

Also, a sulfur dioxide influx of 702 tons per day was recorded, and ground deformation continues to be observed.

If Mayon Volcano shows heightened activity indicating the possibility of an explosive eruption, PHIVOLCS will increase the status to Alert Level 4, Ms. Bornas said.

Mayon is the most active of the 22 active volcanoes in the Philippines, having erupted more than 50 times over the last four centuries. Its most destructive eruption occurred in February 1814, claiming the lives of approximately 1,200 people. 

The Philippines is located within the “Pacific Ring of Fire,” a belt characterized by a high concentration of active volcanoes and frequent, intense earthquakes. — Edg Adrian A. Eva