MANILA: The Office of Civil Defence in Bicol Region on Monday assured the public that Albay is still safe for tourists.
This, after the region’s tourism department drew flak for posting a list of safe viewing sites for those who want to see the lava flow from the rumbling of Mayon volcano.
Some social media users criticised the agency for promoting the so-called “disaster tourism” while thousands are being affected by the volcano’s eruption.
“Through dialogues with the different agencies including Department of Tourism, the current status of Mayon does not need for any ban on tourism or suspension of tourism activities outside the 6-kilometer permanent danger zone,” Gremil Naz of OCD Bicol Region told ANC’s “Headstart”.
“Tourists are encouraged to view what is happening in Legazpi or other parts of Albay, but we recommend to utilise the viewing decks because we have viewing points situated on the different municipalities and cities in Albay.
“We have safe vantage points and the Department of Tourism Regional Office 5 encourages that Albay is still safe,” he added.
The OCD earlier proposed to turn the Mayon volcano ‘s 6-kilometer permanent danger zone into a national park.
It argued that the move would keep residents away from the area and in turn, reduce the need for evacuation when Mayon rumbles.
So far, more than 20,000 people were moved to evacuation centres due to the unrest.
State volcanologists have said the rumbling could last for months.
Earthquakes and volcanic activity are common in the Philippines due to its position on the Pacific “Ring of Fire” where tectonic plates collide.
Five years ago, Mayon displaced tens of thousands of people after spewing millions of tonnes of ash, rocks and lava.
Mayon lies in a region also hit by many of the roughly 20 typhoons or tropical storms to strike the Philippines each year. The frequent weather disasters often kill people, ravage farms, and help to keep millions poor.
Meanwhile, the Philippines national seismology agency said it cannot rule out the possibility of Mayon volcano’s “hazardous and explosive” eruption as it continues to spew lava and sulfuric gas, reported Anadolu.
Dr Teresito Bacolcol, chief of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs), said that these activities reflect “what is happening on the vent,” local English daily Manila Times reported.
At least three volcanic earthquakes and 11 pyroclastic density currents (PDCs), according to Bacolcol, were recorded from 5 am on June 17 to 5 am (local time) on Sunday.
So far, the current parameters are still reflecting on what is happening, the effusive eruption, but the possibility of an explosive eruption is still there, he warned.
“The lava flows have advanced to maximum lengths of 1,500 metres (1.5 kilometres) from the summit crater while collapse debris has deposited to 3,300 metres (3.3 kilometres) from the crater,” the newspaper quoted a report from the Mayon Volcano Network.
Continuous moderate degassing from the summit crater produced steam-laden plumes that rose 100 metres (328 feet), it added.
Phivolc said Alert Level 3 remains, which means that the volcano is in a high level of unrest and a hazardous eruption is possible.
