Manila,Philippines — Pressure from magma is easing in Mayon, Phivolcs said Tuesday. This could lower the alert levels on the communities around the volcano.
Renato Solidum, Phivolcs chief, likened Mayon to a balloon losing air. Volcanologists noticed a “deflation” of the volcano. It is no longer producing as much steam as it did and the crater is reportedly not glowing as bright as it were in the past weeks. Solidum says alert level may be reduced from 3 to 2.
Although the volcano seems to be cooling down, Phivolcs still reiterates its warning against entry into the 6-kilometer permanent danger zone and a 7-km extended danger zone in the southeast flank of the volcano.
Mayon, believed to be the most active among the country’s 22 active volcanoes, has erupted at least 50 times since 1616. Its worst eruption buried Cagsawa town and killed 1,200 people in 1814. An eruption in 1993 killed 77 farmers.