(MENAFN- The Peninsula) Lava is again flowing out of Mayon, the Philippines' most active volcano, raising fears an eruption could be imminent, authorities said yesterday.
The government has already evacuated around 63,000 people living inside a 6km danger zone around the volcano, after it began to spew out white smoke and some lava last month.
Activity had appeared to quieten down but a fresh cascade - confirmed by the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology yesterday - this time stretching further down the slopes, has prompted concerns that an eruption may soon take place.
"The first activity started on September 15 and lasted for a few days. After that, there was a lull or no summit activity, but this morning, our volcanologists spotted a lava flow," said Renato Solidum, head of the government volcanology agency told ABS-CBN television. "What is happening now is that there is very slow movement... of lava flow about 350 metres in length from the summit," he added.
Solidum warned lava flow from Mayon was usually followed by "an explosive phase of eruption" although he could not estimate when such blasts could occur.
He explained magma inside the volcano was now rising to the summit slowly but added that it could accelerate, prompting quakes and small explosions and potentially causing a much larger eruption.
The 2,460-metre Mayon, located about 330km southwest of Manila, has a long history of deadly eruptions.
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