RSOE EDIS - Situation Update No. 13 : Philippines - Volcano Eruption

RSOE Emergency and Disaster Information Service Budapest, Hungary RSOE EDIS ALERTMAIL

Situation Update No. 13 Posted:2009-11-11, 04:27:35 [UTC] Ref.no.: VE-20091111-23786-PHL Situation Update No. 13 On 2009-12-18 at 06:16:28 [UTC] Event: Volcano Eruption Location: Philippines Province of Albay, Bicol Region Mayon Volcano Number of Evacuated: 50000 person(s) Situation: A major eruption of Mount Mayon in the Philippines could take place as early as next week, scientists warned, as authorities rushed to evacuate thousands more people from the base of one of the nation’s most active volcanoes. Small eruptions have already shot plumes of ash into the sky and caused lava to spill from the crater of Mayon, a tourist attraction in the Philippines because of its almost perfectly conical shape. Activity is increasing, with the number of minor quakes more than doubling, July Sabit, a scientist at the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, said by telephone today. The volcano “may be more explosive” than during its last eruption in 2006, when nobody was killed, he added. About 35,000 people living within a 6-kilometer (3.7-mile) radius of the peak were evacuated as of yesterday and authorities are rushing to complete the evacuation of 7,000 more living within an 8-kilometer band, Raffy Alejandro, the regional civil defense director, said in a phone interview. The 2,460-meter (8,071-feet) volcano in Albay province, 340 kilometers southeast of Manila, has erupted 47 times in the past 323 years, according to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources. An eruption in 1993, when lava and ash cascaded down the mountain, left about 80 farmers dead, Alejandro said. A state of calamity was declared in the province and officials closed off areas near the mountain. Authorities are on alert level three, which means that “magma is close to the crater and a hazardous explosive eruption is imminent,” according to the National Disaster Coordinating Council. The highest alert is level five, when a major eruption is taking place with lava flows and extensive ash-fall. Please DO NOT reply to this message: replies may be treated as errors and result in your subscription being deleted. If you have trouble or other queries, send email to havaria@rsoe.hu RSOE EDIS is operated by the National Association of Radio-Distress Signalling and Infocommunications (RSOE), Budapest, Hungary. Because of the complexity of this system and its dependence on other systems, we cannot be responsible for delays or failures in forwarding or transmission. You're receiving this AlertMail because you subscribed for the service. To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. Contact: havaria@rsoe.hu