In brief
The Philippines’ active Mayon Volcano erupted on Friday, producing a moderately explosive display that lasted roughly six minutes and lofted ash to 3,000 metres. PHIVOLCS raised the volcano’s alert level to 3 and advised residents inside the permanent danger radius to evacuate and pilots to stay away from the summit.
Mayon Volcano in northern Philippines erupted on Friday, sending a plume of ash 3,000 metres high and causing PHIVOLCS to raise the volcano’s alert level from 2 to 3.
According to a statement from the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS), the eruption – described as moderately explosive – occurred at 11:53 a.m. local time and lasted about six minutes.
PHIVOLCS said the event generated a plume that rose 3,000 meters above the crater, and that ashfall is expected to drift west and southwest. The institute warned that the volcano is now in a new phase of magmatic eruption, with higher chances of lava flows and pyroclastic density currents affecting the upper to middle slopes in the days to weeks ahead.
Residents within a 6‑km Permanent Danger Zone were urged to evacuate, and civil aviation authorities were advised to keep pilots away from the summit. Mayon, famed for its near‑perfect conical shape, is one of the Philippines’ most active volcanoes, and has triggered mass evacuations in the past following explosive eruptions.
