Philippines’ Mount Mayon erupted with ash plumes of up to 5 kilometers (3 miles) above the crater on Wednesday, forcing more than 61,000 people to evacuate.

Mount Mayon erupted with ash plumes of up to 5 kilometers (3 miles) above the crater on 24 January (Photo: VNA)

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said that Mount Mayon has spewed lava up to 600 meters (2,000 feet) high every seven minutes in one hour.

Earlier, local authorities raised alert level to four in a 5-level alert system.

Schools in 17 cities in Albay and Camarines Sur provinces have been closed, while 56 flights have been cancelled.

Currently, 55,068 people are taking shelter in evacuation camps, while 6,165 others have had to leave their houses for safer places after local authorities expanded the no-go zone to 9 kilometers (5 miles) from the crater instead of 8 kilometers previously.

The 2,462m Mount Mayon, one of the most active volcanoes in the Philippines, is in Albay Province on the Philippine main island of Luzon, more than 300 km southeast of the capital Manila.

In an 1814 eruption, more than 1,200 people were killed and three towns were buried under mud and rock.  It has erupted 51 times in the last 400 years.

(Source: VNA)