Around 15 000 people evacuated from their homes following eruptions on Mount Mayon, the Philippines.

About 15 000 people have been forced to leave their homes after the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology ordered an evacuation of villages within 6 km of Mount Mayon, a 2463 m stratovolcano (cone shaped volcano) on southern Luzon Island. The evacuations were ordered on Sunday 11 June 2023, when the volcano began a new eruption, although a warning that such an evacuation might be ordered has been in place since an upsurge in seismic activity beneath the volcano a week previously. Such seismic activity can be a sign of liquid magma moving into chambers beneath the volcano, itself often a precursor of eruptions. On Sunday 11 June lava was seen oozing from the volcano's crater and descending the mountain's flanks.

Lava flows on the flanks of Mount Mayon on 11 June 2023. Nehemiah Manzanilla Sitiar/Reuters.

Mayon is considered to be a particularly due to the dense population in the area surrounding it. It has a long history of causing fatalities, most recently in 7 May 2013, when a sudden eruption caught a party of tourists by surprise, leading to five fatalities. As well as the direct danger from volcanic eruptions, Mayon has been the cause of numerous lahars (ash-laden flash foods). These tend to occur when ash from the volcano builds up across the path of seasonal waterways during the dry season, leading to temporary damming of water courses then flash floods at the start of the rainy season.

The location of Mount Mayon. Google Maps.

The geology of the Philippines is complex, with the majority of the islands located on the east of the Sunda Plate. To the east of this lies the Philippine Sea plate, which is being subducted beneath the Sunda Plate (a breakaway part of the Eurasian Plate); further east, in the Mariana Islands, the Pacific Plate is being subducted beneath the Philippine Sea Plate. This is not a smooth process, and the rocks of the tectonic plates frequently stick together before eventually being broken apart by the rising pressure, leading to Earthquakes in the process. Material from the subducting Philippine Plate is heated by the temperature of the Earth's interior, causing lighter minerals to melt and the resultant magma to rise through the overlying Sunda Plate, fuelling the volcanoes of the Philippines.

Subduction beneath the Philippines. Yves Descatoire/Singapore Earth Observatory.

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Evacuations ordered after eruption on Mount Mayon, Luzon Island.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology has ordered an evacuation of villages within 6 km of Mount Mayon, a 2463 m stratovolcano (cone shaped volcano) on southern Luzon Island, following an eruption on Saturday 13 January 2018. The eruption, which is thought to be phraetic in origin (i.e. caused by water inside the volcano coming into contact with hot magma then explosively turning to steam) produced an ash column 2.5-3.0 km high, and is the first eruption on Mount Mayon since 2014.

Ash column over Mount Mayon on 13 January 2018. Niño Luces/Manila Bulletin.

Mayon is considered to be a particularly due to the dense population in the area surrounding it. It has a long history of causing fatalities, most recently in 7 May 2013, when a sudden eruption caught a party of tourists by surprise, leading to five fatalities. As well as the direct danger from volcanic eruptions, Mayon has been the cause of numerous lahars (ash-laden flash foods). These tend to occur when ash from the volcano builds up across the path of seasonal waterways during the dry season, leading to temporary damming of water courses then flash floods at the start of the rainy season.

 

 The location of Mount Mayon. Google Maps.

The geology of the Philippines is complex, with the majority of the islands located on the east of the Sunda Plate. To the east of this lies the Philippine Sea plate, which is being subducted beneath the Sunda Plate (a breakaway part of the Eurasian Plate); further east, in the Mariana Islands, the Pacific Plate is being subducted beneath the Philippine Sea Plate. This is not a smooth process, and the rocks of the tectonic plates frequently stick together before eventually being broken apart by the rising pressure, leading to Earthquakes in the process. Material from the subducting Philippine Plate is heated by the temperature of the Earth's interior, causing lighter minerals to melt and the resultant magma to rise through the overlying Sunda Plate, fuelling the volcanoes of the Philippines.

 

Subduction beneath the Philippines. Yves Descatoire/Singapore Earth Observatory.

 

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Activity on Mount Mayon, Philippines.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology has recorded an increase in seismic activity over the past 24 hours (Saturday 28-Sunday 29 June 2014) beneath Mount Mayon, a 2463 m stratovolcano (cone shaped volcano) on southern Luzon Island. White smoke has also been seen issuing from the summit of the volcano, though the alert level has not yet been raised.

White smoke issuing from the summit of Mount Mayon at about 11.00  am on 29 June 2014. GMA News.

Mayon is considered to be a particularly due to the dense population in the area surrounding it. It has a long history of causing fatalities, most recently in 7 May 2013, when a sudden eruption caught a party of tourists by surprise, leading to five fatalities. As well as the direct danger from volcanic eruptions, Mayon has been the cause of numerous lahars (ash-laden flash foods). These tend to occur when ash from the volcano builds up across the path of seasonal waterways during the dry season, leading to temporary damming of water courses then flash floods at the start of the rainy season.

The location of Mount Mayon. Google Maps.

The geology of the Philippines is complex, with the majority of the islands located on the east of the Sunda Plate. To the east of this lies the Philippine Sea plate, which is being subducted beneath the Sunda Plate; further east, in the Mariana Islands, the Pacific Plate is being subducted beneath the Philippine Sea Plate. 

See also...

 Magnitude 7.1 Earthquake on Bohol Island, the Philippines.

The United States Geological Survey recorded a Magnitude 7.1...

 Five people killed by eruption on Mount Mayon, the Philippines.

Five people are reported to have been killed in an eruption on Mount Mayon, an active stratovolcano (cone shaped volcano) on Luzon Island in the Philippines. The five, who have been described as four German tourists and a local guide, were part of a group of 20 people who were approaching the summit  of the volcano, when they were caught by a...

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Five people killed by eruption on Mount Mayon, the Philippines.

Five people are reported to have been killed in an eruption on Mount Mayon, an active stratovolcano (cone shaped volcano) on Luzon Island in the Philippines. The five, who have been described as four German tourists and a local guide, were part of a group of 20 people who were approaching the summit  of the volcano, when they were caught by a small phreatic explosion (an explosion caused by liquid water encountering hot magma and vaporizing instantly), which though a column of ash 500 m into the air and showered them with rock fragments. Another seven people were injured in the blast, which took place at about 8.00 am on 7 May 2013, local time (midnight between 6 and 7 May, GMT).

Ash column above Mount Mayon. Reuters.

Mount Mayon is located on Luzon Island, about 330 km southeast of Manila. It is a popular tourist location, with frequent tours visiting the summit, bringing important tourism revenue into the area, but it is also a very active volcano, frequently undergoing several small eruptions in a year, with occasional larger and more devastating eruptions; an eruption in 1814 is thought to have killed over a thousand people, more recently 77 deaths were attributed to an eruption in 1984. Lahars are also a frequent problem on Mayon; these are volcanic mudflows, that do not necessarily occur at the same time as eruptions. Ashfalls can block parts of seasonal watercourses during eruptions. These ashfalls act like small damns with the arrival of the monsoon rains in April/May, blocking the flow of water temporarily, till it builds up sufficiently for the damn to burst, unleashing a torrent of thick muddy water down the sides of the volcano.

The location of Mount Mayon. Google Maps.

See also Earthquake off Mindanao Island in the Philippines, Massive Earthquake to the east of the Philippines, Massive Earthquake shakes Cebu & Negros Islands in the Philippines, Earthquake in the Babuyan Islands of the Northern Philippines and Manila shaken by mild earthquake.

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