Philippines raises alert level at Mayon volcano

MANILA, Oct.t 8 (Xinhua): Mayon volcano, the Philippines' most active volcano in Albay province on the island of Luzon, is showing signs of "increasing unrest" on Friday, prompting the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology to raise the alert status from one to two.

"This means that there is current unrest driven by shallow magmatic processes that could eventually lead to phreatic eruptions or even precede hazardous magmatic eruption," the institute said, urging vigilance and warning the people to stay away from the six-kilometre permanent danger zone due to explosions, rockfalls, and landslides.

The institute also noted an increase in the activity of the Bulusan volcano in Sorsogon province, 70 km southeast of the Mayon volcano.

In June, the Bulusan volcano spewed ash and steam into the sky, forcing authorities to evacuate villagers to safety.

The cone-shaped Mayon volcano is the country's most scenic volcano and a popular tourist destination. But it has a long history of deadly eruptions, which erupted 51 times during the last 400 years. It last erupted in 2014.

The Philippine archipelago straddles the Pacific "Ring of Fire" and is prone to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. - XInhua