Mayon calm prelude to the big bang?

The Manila Times - August 11, 2006

THE uneasy calm that has descended on Mayon Volcano could be the prelude to a major eruption, volcanologists warned Thursday.

“It is at this time that the volcanic activity could be gearing up for a bigger explosion,” Ernesto Corpuz, the chief monitor of the volcano for the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, said.

Corpuz predicted that Mayon, which has been rumbling and oozing molten rock for about three weeks, may erupt spectacularly in the coming days.

“This is going to be a critical time,” he said. “This kind of unusual quiet is ominous.”
Renato Solidum, Phivolcs director, said volcanic earthquakes and sulfur-dioxide emissions had subsided.

Only three quakes were recorded and sulfur-dioxide emissions were down to 6,573 tons a day from the 7,829 on Tuesday.

“This apparent lull in the activity, along with the slight change in the sulfur dioxide emission rate, is still significant and reflects the volcano’s unusual state of unrest,” Solidum said.

About 40,000 villagers living in the danger zone around the mountain were sheltering in evacuation camps in Albay.

Relief train
On Thursday a train loaded with P10-million worth of confiscated smuggled clothes and luncheon meat that will be distributed to the evacuees pulled out of the train station in Buendia, Makati City.

The “Mayon Express” was sent off by President Arroyo and was expected to reach Albay in 12 hours.

The President said the relief train could carry at least 30 tons of goods.

“This relief train of 30 tons capacity can be operated every other day as needed and then the evacuees can have free packages from Legazpi to Manila,” she said.

The train carried 40,800 tins of luncheon meat and 15,000 metric tons of used clothes seized by the Bureau of Customs.

Customs Commissioner Napoleon Morales said the luncheon meat could be stored for as long as three years, so they are safe to eat.

General Manager Jose Marie Sarosola of the Philippine National Railways said the trip to Bicol would cost the government only P30,000.

The train could also bring 500 passengers on the return trip to Manila.

The President also ordered the six PNR stations in Albay to be transformed into temporary evacuation centers.

Although signs of activity have slackened in the past two days, lava continues to pour down gullies on the slopes of the volcano.

Crimson streams of lava, however, could still be seen trickling down Mayon’s slopes at night, and a huge column of steaming lava is still moving through a gully in the Bonga district.

Fewer stragglers
Soldiers have been assigned to patrol forests on the foothills to keep residents out of the danger zone. Some farmers and herdsmen, however, still sneak into the area to check on their crops and to safeguard their homes.

The troops see fewer farmers braving the danger zone now that the lava has moved lower.

The villagers have been staying in makeshift evacuation centers, mainly schoolbuil*dings where sometimes as many as 50 people sleep on cold cement floors.

The evacuees are living on rations of rice, instant noodles and canned sardines and meat. Local officials warn that money for their upkeep may soon run out if the crisis continues.

They also fear that overcrowding in the evacuation centers could spawn an epidemic.

The Department of Health’s Center for Health and Development in Bicol warned that an outbreak at the centers could occur unless authorities decongest them.

Already, 88 cases of acute respiratory infection, mostly affecting children, have been reported at the centers.

“We would like to appeal to the local and city officials to add more evacuation centers to prevent an epidemic,” Nestor Santiago, DOH regional director, said.

Close to 50,000 people from the towns of Camalig, Daraga, Guinobatan, Santo Domingo and Malilipot and the cities of Legazpi, Tabaco and Ligao have moved into 20 evacuation camps.

WHO standard
Dr. Juancho Torres, coordinator of the DOH health emergency management staff, told The Times that a 56-square-meter classroom could accommodate only 16 persons, if the World Health Organization standard is followed.

There should also be one toilet for three people, he said.

Dr. Luis Mendoza, WHO chief in Albay, has recommended to the local officials to install more toilets at the evacuation camps.

The most crowded camps were in San Roque and Gogon in Legazpi.

The city’s mayor, Noel Rosal, said two more classrooms will be designated as evacuation camps to decongest San Roque and Cogon.

Rosal directed Engineer Orlando Rebato to unclog toilets and put in water supply. Evacuees from Matanag and Mabinit villages were complaining of lack of toilets and water.
--Sam Mediavilla, Mark Ivan Roblas and Rhaydz B. Barcia