15,000 evacuated as volcano alert increases

NEARLY 15,000 people have fled from villages around the Philippines’ most active volcano as lava flowed down its crater amid warnings the eruption could become explosive.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology increased the alert level for Mount Mayon to three on a scale of five, indicating an increased prospect of a hazardous eruption “within weeks or even days”.

Lava flowed at least half a mile down a gully from the crater on Monday morning and ash clouds appeared mid-slope as lava fragments rolled down, said Renato Solidum, who heads the volcano institute.

Molten rocks and lava at Mayon’s crater lit the night sky in a reddish-orange glow on Sunday despite the thick cloud cover, sending thousands of residents into evacuation shelters.

Disaster response officials said more than 14,700 people have been moved from high-risk areas in three cities and four towns in an ongoing evacuation.

People in the danger area have put up huge white crosses in the past in their areas, hoping to protect their lives and homes.

Cedric Daep, an Albay emergency official, said: “There are some who still resist, but if we reach alert level four, we’ll really be obliged to resort to forced evacuation.” Level four signifies the volcano could erupt violently within days.

Mayon lies in the coconutgrowing Albay province about 210 miles south-east of Manila.

It is popular with climbers and tourists but has erupted 50 times in the last 500 years, sometimes violently.

Meanwhile, south-east of the Philippines, thousands of people are being evacuated in Papua New Guinea over the risk of a volcanic eruption in the South Pacific Island nation’s north.

Prime Minister Peter O’Neill said he had directed all relevant state resources to support the evacuation of people at risk on Kadovar Island.