The cone-shaped, 8,070-foot Mayon volcano began to ooze lava overnight. This caused Philippines state volcanologists to raise the alert level to two steps below a major eruption. Mayon is the Philippine's most active volcano.
Nearly 50,000 people live in a five-mile radius around the mountain. More than 20,000 people were evacuated to safety by nightfall on Tuesday. Albay provincial Gov. Joey Salceda said that has placed central Albay province, where Mayon is located, under a "state of imminent disaster." This will make it easier for him to use emergency funds if necessary.
Albay province lies about 210 miles southeast of the capitol of Manila. Salceda said he had canceled a trip to the climate talks at Copenhagen. He had been scheduled to attend the U.N. climate conference and was to discuss Albay's experience with typhoons and other natural disasters, possibly linked to global climate change.
The Mayon volcano is also known as Mount Mayon. It is renowned as the "Perfect Cone" because of its almost perfectly conical shape (seen above).
Since recorded history, Mayon has had forty-nine eruptions. The first recorded eruption was in 1616, the last major eruption ceased on October 1, 2006. However, a terrible lahar (pyroclastic mudflow) followed on November 30, 2006, linked to Typhoon Durian. That lahar killed an estimated 1,000 and covered a large portion of the village of Padang in mud up to the houses' roofs.
Mayon's most famous eruption occurred in 1814. It killed more than 1,200 people and buried a town in mud. The Philippines itself lies along the Pacific "Ring of Fire." Approximately 22 out of 37 volcanoes in the Philippines are active.
Written by Michael Santo
HULIQ.com
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