http://www.boston.com/dailynews/182/world/Philippine_volcano_likely_to_e:.shtml

Philippine volcano likely to explode within week, possibly triggering major eruption, experts say

By Adam Brown, Associated Press, 7/1/2001 10:02

LEGAZPI, Philippines (AP) The Mayon volcano is rumbling and emitting dense gas clouds, signs it will likely explode again within a week, potentially with enough force to trigger an eruption that threatens villages at its base, scientists said Sunday.

An explosion could come between Monday and next weekend, said Ed Laguerta, chief volcanologist at the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology.

The Mayon volcano blew ash nine miles into the air and shot red hot boulders 2,000 feet high when it erupted June 24. On Friday, it erupted twice, but with considerably less force, blasting ash just over a mile into the air.

''Magma is rising easier and letting out gas,'' Laguerta said Sunday after reviewing the latest data on the rumbling mountain.

Explosions inside volcanoes occur when magma builds enough pressure to burst through rock layers and push closer to the surface. An explosion near the surface could send lava shooting out of the crater and hot gas, ash and debris speeding down the slopes, experts say.

Laguerta warned a new eruption could also unleash rock slides after a huge slab of the volcano's near-perfect cone cracked off Saturday and dropped part-way down the slope.

The detached fragment of the cone, estimated at 2,000 feet wide and 160 feet high, left a jumble of debris near the summit that could fall if shaken, Laguerta said.

The forecast of more volcanic activity will likely prolong a nine-day-old evacuation of people from farms and villages within five miles of the mountain.

Some 45,000 evacuees have packed 31 emergency shelters in the nearby town of Legazpi but many farmers return each day to their farms on Mayon's slopes.

Mayon erupted in February 2000, forcing 68,000 residents to evacuate.

-- Anonymous, July 02, 2001