Mayon Volcano Eruption Triggers Evacuations in Albay province in Philippines

Mayon Volcano in Albay province, south of Manila in the Philippines, recorded renewed volcanic activity on 3 May 2026. Authorities evacuated thousands of residents and kept Alert Level 3 under the country’s five-step volcano warning system.

Mayon Volcano and its location

Mayon Volcano is an active stratovolcano in Albay province on Luzon island. It lies about 330 kilometres south-east of Manila and forms part of the Pacific Ring of Fire, a belt of frequent earthquakes and volcanoes around the Pacific Ocean.

Alert Level 3 and danger zone

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, or Phivolcs, uses a five-step alert system for volcanoes in the Philippines. Alert Level 3 means intensified unrest with possible magmatic activity, and the six-kilometre Permanent Danger Zone around Mayon’s crater remains off-limits.

• The Permanent Danger Zone is a fixed hazard area declared around active volcanoes in the Philippines.
• Mayon has a near-symmetrical cone shape and is one of the most active volcanoes in the Philippines.
• Phivolcs monitors volcanic earthquakes, rockfall events, gas emissions, and lava movement for eruption assessment.

Volcanic activity and hazard terms

Phivolcs recorded strombolian activity, short-lived lava fountaining, and continuous lava effusion on 3 May 2026. A pyroclastic density current, or PDC, also moved up to four kilometres down the Mi-isi gully on 2 May 2026, while remaining inside the danger zone. A PDC is a fast-moving mixture of hot gas, ash, and volcanic fragments. Strombolian activity refers to intermittent bursts of lava and gas from a volcanic vent.

Important Facts for Exams

• Mayon Volcano is located in Albay province in the Bicol Region of the Philippines.
• The Philippines uses a five-step volcano alert system from Alert Level 0 to Alert Level 5.
• Pyroclastic density currents can move rapidly and contain very hot volcanic material.
• Mayon is one of the most active volcanoes in the Philippines and has erupted many times in recorded history.

Evacuation and monitoring data

Nearly 1,500 families, or more than 5,000 people, stayed in evacuation centres on 3 May 2026. Phivolcs also recorded 32 volcanic earthquakes, 284 rockfall events, 14 PDC signals, and sulphur dioxide emissions of 1,586 tonnes per day within 24 hours.