Mayon Volcano raised to Alert Degree 2 on New Yr’s Day

Phivolcs warns the general public that the ‘growing’ unrest at Albay’s Mayon Volcano may result in a ‘hazardous magmatic eruption’

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) raised the alert degree of Mayon Volcano in Albay from Alert Degree 1 to Alert Degree 2 on New Yr’s Day, citing an “growing” or “reasonable” degree of unrest.

In a bulletin issued at 6 am on Thursday, January 1, Phivolcs stated the improve “means that there’s present unrest pushed by shallow magmatic processes” that might result in a “hazardous magmatic eruption.”

Particularly, rockfall incidents have been growing, with a complete of 599 incidents recorded in November-December 2025, or a mean of 10 per day.

Within the final week of December, nonetheless, the typical greater than doubled to 21 rockfall incidents per day. The one-day document for 2025 was logged on Wednesday, December 31, with a complete of 47 rockfall occasions.

“Elevated rockfall at Mayon has been a precursory signal of magmatic dome progress inside the higher edifice previous an eruption, much like circumstances earlier than the 2023 eruption,” Phivolcs defined.

The company added that whereas there was no “important” volcanic earthquake or sulfur dioxide spikes, “floor deformation parameters have been anomalous for nearly 18 months.”

Meaning “the Mayon edifice, significantly its japanese to northeastern slopes, has been swelling or inflating since June 2024.” The volcano’s western to southwestern slopes have additionally been swelling since Might 2025.

“Persistent and growing rockfall, coupled with long- to short-term swelling of the edifice, might point out elevated possibilities of an eruption occurring on the summit of Mayon, producing life-threatening volcanic hazards that will affect surrounding communities,” Phivolcs stated.

These potential volcanic hazards embrace “sudden explosions, pyroclastic density currents or uson, rockfall, landslides, and ballistic projectiles.”

State volcanologists reminded the general public to not enter the 6-kilometer-radius everlasting hazard zone surrounding Mayon.

Phivolcs additionally suggested native authorities models to organize for attainable evacuation in case the unrest escalates additional and Mayon must be raised to the following alert degree.

The final time the volcano was positioned beneath Alert Degree 3 was in June 2023. It was subsequently downgraded to Alert Degree 2 in December 2023, then Alert Degree 1 in March 2024.

The alert ranges are from 1 to five, with 5 indicating {that a} hazardous eruption is already in progress. – Rappler.com