Brace for hazardous Mayon eruption; Alert Level 3 raised

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) on Tuesday, Jan. 6, raised Mayon Volcano’s alert status from Alert Level 2 to Level 3, signaling an increased likelihood of a hazardous eruption.

- BY MERLINA HERNANDO-MALIPOT

“DOST-Phivolcs is now raising the alert status of Mayon Volcano from Alert Level 2 to Alert Level 3,” the agency said. “This means that Mayon is exhibiting magmatic eruption of the summit lava dome, with increased chances of lava flows and hazardous pyroclastic density currents (PDCs), locally called uson, affecting the upper to middle slopes of the volcano, and of potential explosive activity within days or weeks.”

In an advisory, Phivolcs said that since the volcano’s alert was elevated to Level 2 on Jan. 1, repeated collapses of the unstable summit lava dome have triggered a surge in rockfall events.

From Jan. 1 to Jan. 6, Phivolcs recorded 346 rockfalls and four volcanic earthquakes, compared to 599 rockfall events reported from November to December 2025. These rockfalls, lasting between one to five minutes, transported lava debris up to one kilometer down the southern upper slopes of the volcano.

On Jan. 5, Phivolcs noted increased incandescence from the summit dome, indicating accelerated dome growth and the extrusion of new lava at the crater.

At 12:26 p.m. on Jan. 6, pyroclastic density currents were observed in the Bonga Gully (southeast), extending up to two kilometers from the crater.