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Mayon volcano erupts in the Philippines, thousands evacuated as alert raised to Level 3

Albay, Philippines • October 31, 2026 • By Press Pass USA

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The Philippines raised the alert level at Mayon volcano to Level 3 on Friday after a moderately explosive eruption sent a dense ash plume about 3,000 meters above the summit, prompting the evacuation of more than 2,000 people from around the country's most active volcano. The alert remained in effect Saturday after a new ash emission was recorded in the early morning.

The eruption began at about 11:53 a.m. local time Friday and lasted about six minutes, according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS). The gray ash plume drifted west-southwest, and ashfall was expected in the Albay municipalities of Daraga, Guinobatan and Camalig and nearby communities. PHIVOLCS raised the alert from Level 2 to Level 3, warning of an "increased tendency towards a hazardous eruption" and saying the volcano had entered a new phase of magmatic eruption, with increased chances of lava flows and fast-moving pyroclastic density currents — clouds of hot gas, ash and rock — in the coming days to weeks.

Authorities ordered people to stay out of the 6-kilometer Permanent Danger Zone around the crater, and PHIVOLCS recommended its evacuation because of the danger from pyroclastic currents, lava flows, rockfalls and other volcanic hazards. Albay's Public Safety and Emergency Management Office said 746 families — 2,041 people — had been evacuated across several municipalities as of 5 p.m. Friday, and placed its Provincial Disaster Operation Center under red alert status to coordinate local response forces.

The situation was still unfolding Saturday. In its October 31 24-hour monitoring summary, PHIVOLCS kept Mayon at Alert Level 3, recording 15 volcanic earthquakes and 30 rockfall events during the monitoring period, along with an ash emission at about 5:17 a.m. Saturday that rose up to 200 meters above the crater before drifting west-southwest. The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines also closed the airspace around Mayon from the surface to 19,000 feet, advising airlines to avoid the summit area, under a notice that ran from Friday afternoon until late Saturday morning local time.

Mayon, a near-perfect cone in Albay province southeast of Manila, is the Philippines' most active volcano. It had been under Alert Level 2 since August 5 before Friday's eruption prompted the upgrade. Officials warned that a further eruption could occur within weeks if the trend of increasing unrest continues, and urged residents to follow evacuation orders and stay out of the danger zone.

Sources: Reuters (Oct 30, 2026); Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) eruption notification and October 31 monitoring summary; U.S. Embassy in the Philippines natural disaster alert (Oct 30, 2026); Albay Public Safety and Emergency Management Office via local reporting (Oct 31, 2026); DPA (Oct 30, 2026).