Mayon spews ash plume; displaces nearly 4K residents
A TOTAL of 1,083 families, comprising 3,903 individuals, pack an evacuation center in Albay after fleeing their homes following heightened volcanic activity at Mayon Volcano. Local disaster authorities ordered preemptive evacuations across high-risk areas surrounding the mountain as monitoring of the volcano continues.
Photograph courtesy of albay pio
NAGA CITY — Mayon Volcano spewed a 1,600-meter ash plume during a minor Strombolian eruption on Tuesday morning, driving the number of evacuated residents in Albay province to nearly 4,000.
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) recorded the crater eruption at 8:22 a.m.
The resulting ash plume drifted southwest, prompting warnings of potential ashfall across Albay’s 3rd District, including the towns of Guinobatan, Jovellar, Libon, Oas, Pio Duran and Polangui.
The Albay Public Safety and Emergency Management Office reported that displacement figures rose to 1,083 families, or 3,903 individuals, as of Tuesday noon.
Evacuees were drawn primarily from the cities of Tabaco and Ligao, alongside the municipalities of Malilipot and Camalig.
Tabaco City recorded the highest number of displaced residents at 519 families, followed by Malilipot with 350, Camalig with 206, and Ligao City with eight.
In response, the Albay Provincial Health Office distributed 22,000 surgical masks to local government units and healthcare facilities.
Disaster officials cited that additional face masks, hygiene kits, potable water, and relief goods remain urgently needed in evacuation centers.
Albay Governor Noel Rosal confirmed that despite the ashfall threat, province-wide school classes would continue except in areas affected by separate heat advisories.
Rosal had previously suspended classes last week when Phivolcs raised Mayon’s status from Alert Level 2 to Alert Level 3 following a moderately explosive eruption on 30 October.
Mayon remains under Alert Level 3, signaling an increased tendency toward a hazardous eruption. Authorities reiterated that entry into the 6-kilometer permanent danger zone remains strictly prohibited due to potential lava flows and pyroclastic density currents.
Meanwhile, severe heat conditions forced localized class suspensions in parts of the province on Tuesday.
In Guinobatan and Camalig, local officials suspended in-person classes starting at noon after the heat index reached 37 degrees Celsius.
Guinobatan Mayor Anna Gemma Ongjoco and Camalig Mayor Carlos Irwin Baldo cited Department of Education Order No. 64, series of 2026, which mandates a shift to modular or remote learning under the “HINGA” caution level (33 to 41 degrees Celsius) to protect students and school personnel.