Mayon Volcano Eruption in Philippines Forces Thousands to Evacuate

Mayon Volcano Latest News

One of the most active volcanoes in the Philippines, Mayon, fired a dark column of ash over thousands of metres into the sky in a “moderately explosive eruption” recently.

About Mayon Volcano

• It is an active volcano located in Albay province on Luzon Island in the Philippines.
• It is a stratovolcano, that is, it is made out of alternating strata of lava and ash and is part of the Ring of Fire in the Pacific Ocean.  
• It is located on the eastern side of Luzon, beside the Philippine Trench, which is the convergent boundary where the Philippine Sea Plate is driven under the Philippine Mobile Belt. 
• Rising to 2462 m above the Albay Gulf, it is the Philippines’ most active volcano. 
• Celebrated as one of the most symmetrical volcanic cones on Earth, it has a base 130 km in circumference and has steep upper slopes.
• Right at the very peak sits a circular volcanic crater that measures about 250 m (820 ft) across. 
• Popular with climbers and campers, the volcano is the centre of Mayon Volcano National Park. UNESCO named it an official biosphere reserve in 2016. 
• There are large abaca plantations on its lower slopes. 
• Historical eruptions date back to 1616 CE that have been characterized by Strombolian eruptions, lava flows, pyroclastic flows, and mudflows. 
• There have been more than 30 eruptions recorded since 1616.  
• Mayon’s most violent eruption, in 1814, killed more than 1200 people and devastated several towns. 
• An eruption in 1993 caused 79 deaths. 
• Eruptions occur predominately from the central conduit and have also produced lava flows that travel far down the flanks.

News: WION

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