Volcanic eruption in Philippines sickens over 600 evacuees

A Philippine government agency reported on Monday that at least 628 people fell ill after being displaced in shelters due to the eruption of Mayon Volcano, the most active volcano in that country.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said it recorded at least 10 kinds of sickness affecting the evacuees, aged between two and 64.

The illnesses include cough, cold, fever, gastroenteritis, acute respiratory infections, and skin diseases.

The disaster management agency said nearly 39,000 people were affected by Mayon’s eruption, which started on June 8.

Local authorities have evacuated more than 20,000 villagers living in the danger zone around the picturesque, cone-shaped Mayon Volcano in Albay province, approximately 500 kilometers southeast of the Philippine capital Manila.

Under a state of calamity, the province set up 28 evacuation centers for displaced people, usually in school classrooms.

Meanwhile, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology recorded pyroclastic flows from the volcano’s collapsed lava domes on Monday that lasted three minutes.

Steam-laden plumes rose to 600 meters, and the institute maintained the volcano’s alert level at 3 on a scale of 5.

Mayon Volcano last erupted in 2018, resulting in the evacuation of more than 23,000 people from nine cities and municipalities.