Mayon Volcano in the Phillipine Islands Wakes Up Again

The Mayon Volcano continues to spew ash and lava in the Philippines. The volcano is located on the island of Luzon, the largest of the Philippine Islands. The Mayon volcano is the most active volcano in the Philippine Islands. After the recent upswing in activity, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology raised their alert level for the possibility of eruption to alert level 3. The upswing in seismic activity within the volcano could lead to a dangerous eruption in a matter of days or weeks. The volcano has already dropped ash on its slopes and on several surrounding communities.

A dangerous threat to these communities will be the development of pyroclastic flows. Pyroclastic flows occur as a result of hot gas and rock being ejected down the sides of the volcano. They can often travel at speeds of 400 mph down slopes with temperatures reaching close to 2000 degrees Fahrenheit. They incinerate anything in their path. They develop and strike with little warning. The speed at which they flow depends on the slope of the volcano, as well as the density of the matter being ejected from the cone of the volcano. Since the Mayan volcano has steep sides, any pyroclastic flows that to develop, will likely travel swiftly down its slopes, and reach the upper limits of speed and temperature thresholds.

The volcano has been spewing ash and lava from the southern portion of its nearly perfectly shaped cone. The Mayon Volcano is a stratovolcano, or otherwise known as a composite volcano. They are created over large period of years where materials from several to numerous eruptions lead to a layering of its materials that form the base and cone of the volcano. They are usually have steep sides, and have near cylindrical cone. Mount Saint Helens is another example of a stratovolcano. Stratovolcanoes can lie dormant for a number of years, and then suddenly burst to life with violent eruptions, consisting of ash, lava and pyroclastic flows.

The last eruption of the Mayon Volcano occurred in 2006. The eruption left large deposits of ash and debris on the slopes of the volcano. The eruption lasted for two months. The eruption itself did not claim any lives. However, in December 2006 Typhoon Durian struck the area with heavy rains. The heavy rains caused a land and mudslide of volcanic debris and claimed more than 1,000 lives.

Scientists monitoring the volcano will continue to keep an eye on gas emissions, seismic activity, and whether there are any changes in the amount of ash being ejected from the cone. Any changes to the activity levels could lead to some advanced warning as to whether a major eruption will occur.