Mayon Volcano nagbabantang sumabog — Phivolcs

Alert level 3 itinaas na

NI MJ SULLIVAN

Dahil sa patuloy na pagpapakita ng abnormalidad ng Mayon Volcano ay itinaas ng Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) ang alert level 3 ang alerto sa paligid nito.

Ayon sa pinakahuling abiso ang PHivolcs, mula sa Alert Level 2 (increasing unrest) ay itinaas sa Alert Level 3 o increased tendency towards a hazardous eruption sa Mayon Volcano.

Nabatid na simula nang itaas ang alert level 2 noong Hunyo 5, 2023 ay nagsimula nang makita ang pag-collapse ng summit dome ng Mayon Volcano at kasabay nito ay nadagdagan ang dami ng naitatalang rockfall events.

Mula Hunyo 5 hanggang Hunyo 8 ay umaabot na sa kabuuang 267 rockfall events at 2 volcanic earthquakes ang naitala na malayo sa 54 rockfall events na naitala noong Hunyo 1 hanggang Hunyo 4.

“These events had durations of one (1) to three (3) minutes and transported lava debris within a kilometer range of the southern upper slopes. The volume of discrete rockfall events increased on 3 June based on the seismic record, signaling an increase in the rate of dome growth. Three (3) pyroclastic density current or PDC events on the Bonga (southeast) and Basud (east) Gullies were observed today at 6:18 AM, 9:53 AM and 11:00 AM.,” ayon sa Phivolcs.

“The PDCs lasted four to five minutes based on the seismic record and emplaced within a kilometer of the summit crater. In contrast, SO2 emission remains at baseline or background levels. Short-term ground deformation data from continuous GPS, electronic tilt, and EDM monitoring indicate persistent inflation of the southeastern middle and upper slopes since February 2023. The overall monitoring parameters indicate that very slow extrusion of shallow degassed magma is ongoing and is incrementally increasing in rate; i.e., effusive magmatic eruption is taking place,” dagdag nito.

Sa alert level 3, ang Bulkang Mayon ay nagpapakita ng magmatic eruption ng summit lava dome, na malaki ang posibilidad na magkaroon ng lava flows at  hazardous PDCs na makakaapekto sa itaas hanggang gitnang bahagi ng bulkan at may potensyal na sumabog sa loob ng ilang linggo o araw.

Dahil dito, mahigpit ang babala ng Phivolcs na pinagbabawal ang pagpasok sa 6-km radius Permanent Danger Zone (PDZ) at pinalilikas na ang malapit dito dahil sa pangambang magkaroon ng PDCs, lava flows, rockfalls at iba pang volcanic hazards.

Pinapayuhan din ng Phivolcs ang Civil aviation authorities na atasan ang mga piloto na umiwas na dumaan malapit sa bulkan dahil sa ibinubugang abo at sa inaasahang pagsabog nito.