Photographer observes crater glow on Mayon

LEGAZPI CITY Ð Good weather allowed a professional photographer to observe a crater glow in Mayon Volcano Friday evening.

Government scientists based at the Lignon Hill Observatory said they would continue to monitor the crater glow five days after Mayon spewed a column of gray to brown ash clouds that reached 500 meters above the summit.

The explosion left four climbers Ð three Germans and a Spaniard Ð and a local guide dead while four Thais, an Austrian and four other local guides were injured in the incident.

“If the crater glow is due to a new magma deposit, there is a corresponding increase in the sulfur gas emission,” volcanologist Eduardo Laguerta told The STAR.

The level of sulfur gas output before Friday was from 100 to 300 tons per day.

Laguerta said the crater glow was not observed Saturday evening due to clouds covering the volcano’s summit. He said their seismic instrument detected only one volcanic quake on Saturday while sulfur gas emission was at 180 tons per day.

Albay Gov. Joey Salceda said there’s no need to postpone the elections in areas surrounding the volcano despite the observance of a crater glow Friday evening and the ash explosion last May 6.

Salceda said evacuation would be carried out once the alert level is raised to 2. He said in 2007, Mayon’s alert level was at 2 but elections were not postponed in areas threatened by the volcano.

At present, alert level zero is hoisted within the 2,462- meter distance from volcano.