The Philippines’ most active volcano located in its most populous region spewed fountains of red-hot lava and massive ash plumes anew on Tuesday. The view may appear dazzling in photos but the eruption is increasingly becoming more dangerous. 55,000 residents have left their homes and sought refuge in evacuation centers.
Lava fountains gushed up 700 meters (2,300 feet) above Mount Mayon’s crater while ash plumes rose to a high of up to 3 kilometers (1.9 miles) on Monday night. At least three major other eruptions followed Tuesday, including a blast at nightfall that was capped by one of the most massive lava displays since the volcano started acting up more than a week ago.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Philippines' most active volcano spews fountains of red-hot lava and massive ash plumes; 56K sent to shelter in evacuation centers <a href="https://t.co/U0lJArKQ9w">https://t.co/U0lJArKQ9w</a> <a href="https://t.co/qoZErsv011">pic.twitter.com/qoZErsv011</a></p>— CBS News (@CBSNews) <a href="https://twitter.com/CBSNews/status/955778745171939328?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 23, 2018</a></blockquote>
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Philippine authorities issued a warning that a violent eruption might occur in hours or days to come characterized by more rumblings and pyroclastic flows-superheated gas and volcanic debris that race down the slopes at high speeds, in the process vaporizing everything in their path.
The alert level was raised to four on a scale of five after Monday’s eruption. Officials also expanded the danger zone to 8 kilometers ( 5 miles) from the crater. As such thousands of more residents were evacuated.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Violent explosion at Philippines' most active volcano sends thousands of villagers fleeing to evacuation centers for safety. <a href="https://t.co/TiaTb2M3jN">https://t.co/TiaTb2M3jN</a> <a href="https://t.co/Xr9wUzmWyq">pic.twitter.com/Xr9wUzmWyq</a></p>— ABC News (@ABC) <a href="https://twitter.com/ABC/status/955541568634720256?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 22, 2018</a></blockquote>
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More than a dozen towns were affected. The government says, however, that they are ready with stand-by 30,000 ash masks and emergency food including the staple rice, along with other essentials as water, medicine, and other supplies.
Mayon Volcano boasts of an almost perfect cone and is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the Philippines. It has, however, erupted 50 times in the last 500 years, at times violently at that.
The Philippines is a long-time ally of the U.S. in Asia.
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