Philippines' Mayon volcano spews lava down its slopes in gentle eruption putting thousands on alert

With the volcano beginning to expel lava on June 11 night, the high-risk zone around Mayon may be expanded should the eruption turn violent, said Teresito Bacolcol, director of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology.

The Philippines’ most active volcano was gently spewing lava down its slopes on June 12, alerting tens of thousands of people they may have to quickly flee a violent and life-threatening explosion.

More than 12,600 people have left the mostly poor farming communities within a 6-kilometer (3.7-mile) radius of Mayon Volcano’s crater in mandatory evacuations since volcanic activity increased last week. But thousands more remain within the permanent danger zone below Mayon, an area long declared off-limits to people but where generations have lived and farmed because they have nowhere else to go.

With the volcano beginning to expel lava Sunday night, the high-risk zone around Mayon may be expanded should the eruption turn violent, said Teresito Bacolcol, director of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology. Mr. Bacolcol said if that happens, people in any expanded danger zone should be prepared to evacuate to emergency shelters.

“What we are seeing now is an effusive eruption,” Mr. Bacolcol told The Associated Press. “We are looking at this on a day-to-day basis.”

From a distance, Associated Press journalists watched lava flow down the volcano's southeastern gullies for hours Sunday night. People hurriedly stepped out of restaurants and bars in a seaside district of Legazpi, the capital of northeastern Albay province about 14 kilometers (8.5 miles) from Mayon, many of them snapping pictures of the volcano that's a popular tourist draw known for its picturesque conical shape.

Albay was placed under a state of emergency Friday to allow for quicker distribution of any disaster relief funds in the event of a major eruption.

The volcano had been raised to alert level three on a five-step system Thursday, warning that the volcano was in a state of high unrest and a hazardous eruption is possible in weeks or days.