Philippine Volcano Eruption Triggers Evacuations: BIC PIC
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Dec. 15, 2009 -- The Philippines' most active volcano oozed lava and shot up plumes of ash Tuesday, forcing thousands of people to evacuate their homes.
WATCH: Violent eruptions are a reminder that we live on a volcano planet.
State volcanologists raised the alert level on the cone-shaped, 8,070-foot Mayon volcano early Tuesday morning to two steps below a major eruption after ash explosions.
Dark orange lava fragments glowed in the dark as they trickled down the mountain slope overnight. Renato Solidum, head of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, said the activity could get worse in coming days.
More than 20,000 people were evacuated to safety by nightfall Tuesday, said Gov. Joey Salceda of Albay province, where Mayon is located about 210 miles southeast of Manila.
Residents in Albay are used to moving away from Mayon. Nearly 50,000 people live in a five-mile radius around the mountain, and some villages were evacuated last month when the volcano spewed ash.
Mayon last erupted in 2006, and about 30,000 people were moved. Another eruption in 1993 killed 79 people.
For an in-depth analysis of some of the greatest volcanic eruptions of all time, visit our Wide Angle: Volcano Planet.
Image credit: AP Photo/Nelson Salting
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