Mayon Volcano erupted explosively, and the Philippines raised its alert to Level 3

Mayon Volcano in Albay province blew out an explosive eruption at 11:53 local time on October 30, 2026, throwing a dense ash plume about 3,000 m above its summit crater. The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, known as PHIVOLCS, responded by raising the Philippines’ alert for the mountain from Level 2 to Level 3 and called the activity a new phase of magmatic eruption.

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On the national five-step scale, Level 3 marks magma at or near the crater and a raised chance of lava flows and pyroclastic density currents on the upper to middle slopes.

Seismic count, inflation and gas before the blast

The warning signs built quickly. According to the report from The Watchers, which draws on PHIVOLCS bulletins, volcanic earthquakes climbed from 4 on October 28 to 35 on October 29 and then to 101 on October 30, among them 18 volcanic tremors lasting between one and eight minutes. The edifice kept inflating, with brief deflation on the northeastern sector, and crater glow was visible to the naked eye. Before the explosion, moderate emissions had lifted a plume only about 100 m above the rim, a modest display next to the 3,000 m column that followed.

Sulfur dioxide told a more ambiguous story. Flux measured 3,360 tonnes per day on October 28 and 1,413 tonnes per day on October 29. A falling gas reading before an eruption can mean a plugged conduit rather than a quieting system, which is why PHIVOLCS advises reading single daily values alongside seismicity and ground deformation instead of on their own. The 4-to-101 jump in volcanic earthquakes over three days is the sort of acceleration monitoring teams look for, since rising rock-fracture counts usually track magma pushing upward and often precede a change in eruptive style.

The 6-km Permanent Danger Zone and the ashfall towns

PHIVOLCS recommended that residents leave the 6-km Permanent Danger Zone around the crater, where pyroclastic density currents, lava flows and rockfalls are the main threats. Communities along channels draining the cone were told to expect lahars and sediment-laden streamflows, since fresh ash and heavy rain together can send mud down gullies long after an eruption ends. Moderate winds carried the plume toward the west-southwest, and the institute expected ashfall in Daraga, Guinobatan, Camalig and nearby Albay municipalities. The agency’s own site, at phivolcs.dost.gov.ph, is where the formal bulletins are posted.

Aviation planners faced a separate problem. The Tokyo Volcanic Ash Advisory Center, which is run by the Japan Meteorological Agency, issued advisory 2026/813 for Mayon, and according to the Watchers account, Himawari-9 imagery at 19:20 local time showed ash from the surface up to flight level 180, roughly 5.5 km, drifting south at 20 knots. The center forecast ash reaching flight level 190, about 5.8 km, by 01:20 on October 31, then none in its 12-hour and 18-hour outlooks. Civil aviation authorities were to tell pilots to keep away from the summit, because fine ash can damage jet engines and cut visibility on routes serving Legazpi and Manila.

Mayon is the near-perfect cone that dominates Albay, rising to about 2,460 m above the Bicol lowlands near Legazpi City, roughly 500 km southeast of Manila, and it ranks among the Philippines’ most active volcanoes. Farms, towns and the Camalig Bypass Road sit close to the gullies that channel its flows, which is why the 6-km zone matters so much to evacuation planning. Previous alerts at this level have pushed thousands of residents into shelters, and the same pressure on schools and roads is likely to build again if the eruption continues.

A volcano already deep into an eruptive episode

The October 30 explosion did not start from rest. The current episode began on January 6, 2026, when the volcano was placed under Alert Level 3 as lava-dome growth and collapse sent pyroclastic currents down the slopes. Later phases brought lava-flow effusion and episodic minor Strombolian bursts, so the late-October jump is a step within a months-long sequence rather than a brand-new awakening.

One of those earlier surges came on May 2, when a pyroclastic density current, known locally as uson, raced down the southwestern slopes through the Mi-isi gully. Gulf News reported that smoke cut visibility on the Camalig Bypass Road, stopped some vehicles and left heavy ashfall over parts of Camalig, with the authorities repeating that entry into the 6-km zone should be prohibited. Coverage that month, including a Daily Tribune item on displaced residents, showed how disruptive a single afternoon of activity can be for farms and roads around the cone.

What comes next rests on PHIVOLCS bulletins that were not directly retrievable for this article. The index page for Mayon was returning an error, and the public bulletin list lagged behind the events, so the alert level, the plume heights and the earthquake counts above come through The Watchers and the Tokyo advisory. The Watchers’ final check found no newer bulletin superseding the October 30 raising of Level 3, and the open question is whether the volcano settles back toward lava effusion or produces a stronger explosion first.

This article was produced with the assistance of AI and reviewed by Morning Overview editors prior to publication.

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