Glowing red lava rolls down slopes of Philippine volcano
LEGAZPI, Philippines — Glowing red lava rolled down the slopes of a Philippine volcano Tuesday morning as authorities maintained a warning of a possible hazardous eruption.
The lava was quietly flowing in some places but at times Mount Mayon was erupting like a fountain, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said. Lava had advanced up to 2 kilometres (1.24 miles) from the crater, and ash reached up to 2 kilometres and fell on nearby communities.
Nearly 15,000 people have fled the danger zone within 6 to 7 kilometres of Mayon, and the institute strongly advised people not to re-enter the area.
Several small pyroclastic flows were generated by fragments in the lava streams and not by an explosion from the crater vent, like occurred with Mount Pinatubo, said Renato Solidum, who heads the volcano institute. Pyroclastic flows are superheated gas and volcanic debris that can race down slopes and incinerate everything in their path, and are feared in a major eruption.