Warning in Philippines to 'evacuate or face death penalty' as Mayon volcano threatens deadly eruption

Warning in Philippines to 'evacuate or face death penalty' as Mayon volcano threatens deadly eruption The danger zone around the crater has been expanded from 6km to 8km, but some residents have still tried to sneak back home.

Image: There are fears there could be a more violent eruption. Pic: Jack Kurtz/ZUMA Wire/REX/Shutterstock

More than 56,000 villagers are now camped in emergency shelters as the Philippines' most active volcano continues to threaten a potentially deadly eruption.

Fountains of red-hot lava and huge plumes of ash gushed thousands of feet into the air above Mount Mayon on Tuesday, less than 24 hours after its most explosive activity since rumblings began just over a week ago.

Authorities raised the alert level from three to the second-highest level of four on Monday, meaning that a "hazardous eruption is imminent", and the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology has previously warned of "the danger of rockfalls, landslides and sudden explosions".

Philippine volcano spews lava

Some 56,217 people are taking shelter in 46 evacuation camps and army troops and police are continuing to help move more villagers from their homes. More than 30,000 ash masks and about 5,000 sacks of rice, along with medicine, water and other supplies have been taken in.

One disaster relief official warned that anyone who does not evacuate faces "a death penalty".


"If pyroclastic flows hit people, there is no chance for life," Cedric Daep told a news conference.

"Let us not violate the natural law, avoid the prohibited zone, because if you violate, the punishment is the death penalty."

Image: Ash spews from the Mayon volcano as it continues to erupt

The danger zone around the crater has been expanded from 6km (3.7m) to 8km (5m), but some residents have still tried to sneak back to their homes to check on them and even watch a popular cockfight in Albay province's Santo Domingo town.

Quitin Velardo, a 59-year-old farmer, wanted to return to his village to take his cow and water buffalo to safety.

"We couldn't sleep last night because of the loud rumblings," he said.

"It sounded like an airplane that's about to land."

Image: More than 56,000 people have been evacuated

Nearby villages have been plunged into darkness by the daytime eruptions, with lava, rocks and debris sent hurtling down the mountain's slopes.

There have been no deaths or injuries reported, but schools have been closed and flights have been cancelled, with the country's civil aviation authority shutting the airport in the southeastern city of Legazpi.

Nine international and 16 domestic flights have been affected.

Public and private offices in at least three towns were also closed as a heavy fall of ash hit urban areas.

Image: Residents are taking shelter in evacuation camps

"It was like night time at noon; there was zero visibility in some areas because the ash fall was so thick," said Albay disaster response officer Jukes Nunez.

Authorities have warned a violent eruption may occur in hours or days, characterised by more rumblings and flows of superheated gas and volcanic debris racing down the slopes at high speeds.

The 8,070ft (2,460m) high volcano last erupted in 2014, with lava flows forcing thousands of people to evacuate, and was at its most deadly in February 1841, when 1,200 people were killed and lava buried a town.

But the most powerful explosion to hit the Philippines in recent times was from Mount Pinatubo, about 100km (62m) northwest of Manila, which killed more than 800 people when it erupted in 1991.