Thousands flee 'imminent' Philippines volcano eruption

PHILIPPINESU: Tens of thousands of people were being moved out of their homes in the central Philippines on Monday in the face of an "imminent" eruption of the rumbling Mayon volcano, officials said.

With 80 military trucks doing the heavy lifting, the government expected to move some 34,276 people to 31 state-run shelters by noon (0400 GMT), Defense Secretary Avelino Cruz told a news conference in Manila.

"The evacuation is ongoing. It has been going smoothly," said Cruz, concurrent chairman of the civil defense office. "We can do it (evacuation) in four hours," said civil defense administrator Glen Rabonza after the evacuation started at 8:00 am (0000 GMT).

Volcanologists previously said an explosive eruption by Mayon, one of the country's most active volcanoes, could threaten the lives of about 60,000 people.

In Legaspi, city mayor Noel Rosal personally supervised the evacuation of 10,500 residents from four villages on Mayon's lower slopes.

"We are just waiting for them to gather some of their things before we take them to the major evacuation centers," he said, while admitting: "Some are reluctant to leave."

The mayor said the mild lava eruption last month "gave us ample lead time to prepare the evacuation centers", mostly schools and other government buildings beyond the volcano danger zone.

They were stocked with food and sleeping facilities while tap water and electricity connections were provided. Mayon's environs were rocked early Monday by five successive volcanic blasts within 40 minutes, followed by a fountain of lava from Mayon's crater, Rosal said on local radio.

By mid-morning the peak was covered in a dark cloud of volcanic material rising several kilometers (miles) above the crater. Television footage showed superheated lava tumbling down the slopes, setting the plant cover on fire.

The government's seismology institute on Monday raised a five-step volcano alert over Mayon at the next-highest level of 4, meaning an eruption could occur within days.

"This means that Mayon is ready to burst," said the institute's director Renato Solidum. Materials thrown from the crater of the 8,070-foot mountain could threaten anyone within an eight-kilometer (five-mile) radius, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said in an advisory.

It advised local officials in the central province of Albay to order the evacuation of 28 areas around the mountain, including parts of Legaspi city and the towns of Camalig, Daraga, Ligao, Malilipot, Santo Domingo and Tabaco. "Areas just outside of these (villages) should prepare for evacuation in the event explosive eruptions intensify," it said.

Depending on the situation, officials could recommend expanding the danger zone to 10 kilometers (6.2 miles), Solidum told reporters.

Mayon began abnormal activity in February, and started emitting small lava flows on July 15.

Mayon has had 47 eruptions in recorded history, the latest being a mild outpouring of lava in June 2001.

The volcano with a near-perfect cone buried the town of Cagsawa in the 19th century, killing an estimated 1,000 people.

Legaspi, Monday, AFP