(Eagle News) — The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) said on Monday that an Alert Level 4 remains in effect over Mt. Mayon, as authorities announced that over 200,000 families have already been affected by the volcano’s activities.
According to PHIVOLCS, the alert level means that a “hazardous” eruption of the volcano in Albay was still imminent, with weak lava fountaining, lava effusion and degassing being seen from its summit crater for the past 24 hours.
As such, PHIVOLCS advised the public to be “vigilant and desist from entering the 8 kilometer-radius danger zone..”
It said the public should be “additionally vigilant against pyroclastic density currents, lahars and sediment-laden stream flows along channels draining the edifice,” and pilots should not fly close to the volcano’s summit.
According to Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque, as of 6 p.m. of February 25, 23,526 families or 90,148 persons in 61 barangays in Albay have already been affected by Mt. Mayon’s activities.
He added that 16, 106 families or 61,886 persons are currently in 57 evacuation centers, while 1,467 families or 5,621 persons were staying outside the evacuation centers.
According to Roque, the government has so far provided assistance in the amount of almost P400 million to the affected residents in Albay.