AGENCIES
MANILA
HEAVY rainfall brought by the tail-end of a cold front lashing the area near Mayon Volcano in Albay, Philippines, generated mudflows.
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said on Sunday that the rainfall on Saturday resulted in"sediment-laded streamflows in channel draining the Mayon Volcano's edifice."
Phivolcs on Saturday warned that the lava, ashfall and other pyroclastic density current materials spewed by the country's most active volcano for the last two weeks could turn into~lahar~if the heavy rains continue.~Lahar~is a mudflow carrying volcanic debris such as ash, rocks and sand.
Phivolcs noted that lahars could sweep away entire settlements. The volcanology institute added that lahar and sediment-laden streamflows are possible"on all river channels draining the slopes of Mayon Volcano" especially in the villages of Buyuan, Missi, Mabinit, Basud, San Vicente, Buang, Quirangay and Masarawag-Maninila.
The Philippine Atmospheric,Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration on Sunday said that cloudy skies with scattered~rainshowers~and thunderstorms will be experienced over~Bicol~Region, which might cause possible~flashfloods~or landslides.~
The institute earlier said that 25 million cubic meters (about 883 million cubic feet) of ash and other volcanic material had recently been emitted by Mayon, settling on its slopes and elsewhere nearby. Residents are advised to be more vigilant and move to higher ground when heavy rains occur.
An explosion of the Mayon in August 2006 did not directly kill anyone but four months later, a typhoon unleashed an avalanche of volcanic mud from its slopes that claimed 1,000 lives. The volcanology institute also recorded four volcanic earthquakes, seven tremor events and 23 rockfall events.
Alert Level 4, which means a hazardous eruption is imminent, is still hoisted over Mayon Volcano.~Phivolcs~has five alert levels, with Level 5 indicating that a hazardous eruption is already happening.
The continuous volcanic activities have already displaced more than 18,000 families or more than 72,000 individuals from 57~barangays~causing overcrowding in temporary shelters.
Provincial disaster relief head Cedric Daep said the number of people evacuated will increase as residents flee from areas threatened by lahar.
He, however, said that the rains were also washing away the thick carpet of ash that has covered many communities in the past week.~
Mayon is the most active of the country's 22 volcanoes and one of the deadliest.
Four foreign tourists and their local tour guide were killed when it last erupted in May 2013.
In 1814, more than 1,200 people were killed when lava flows buried the nearby town of~Cagsawa.