Mayon Volcano Continues Eruption, Prompting Alert-Level Warnings and Evacuations

Mayon Volcano in the Philippines remained in eruption Wednesday, with the Tokyo Volcanic Ash Advisory Center logging a fresh eruption at 01:44 UTC on July 16. In an advisory issued at 01:59 UTC, however, the center said the ash cloud could not be confirmed in available satellite imagery, stating: “ERUPTION DETAILS: ERUPTION AT 20260716/0144Z VA CLD UNKNOWN REPORTED” and “OBS VA CLD: VA NOT IDENTIFIABLE FM SATELLITE DATA.” The advisory is still important for aviation because VAAC notices help pilots and airlines track possible volcanic ash hazards, even when imagery is inconclusive.

In the Philippines, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, the government volcano-monitoring agency known as PHIVOLCS, kept Mayon at Alert Level 3 in July. That status reflects ongoing unrest and continuing eruption hazards. Summaries cited by the Global Disaster Alert and Coordination System, or GDACS, said activity has included lava effusion, pyroclastic density currents — fast-moving flows of hot gas, ash and rock — incandescent rockfalls, and ash-and-gas plumes. PHIVOLCS’ warning for the 6-kilometer Permanent Danger Zone also remained in effect.

Tokyo VAAC issued multiple advisories from July 14 through July 16 as the episode continued. Separately, GDACS posted an event record for Mayon at 07:34 UTC on July 16 with an overall “ORANGE” volcanic alert. That label refers to GDACS’ broader event-impact scoring, not an aviation color code from the VAAC advisory. GDACS said: “ORANGE alert: The Mayon Volcanic eruption is unlikely to require external humanitarian assistance based on the exposed population and coping capacity.”

Even so, the exposure around the volcano is large. GDACS estimated about 1.39 million people live within 30 kilometers, and roughly 5.3 million live within 100 kilometers of Mayon. Local impacts were already substantial by mid-July. Philippine disaster-welfare reporting summarized in media accounts said tens of thousands of people in Region V had been affected, with some residents staying in evacuation centers.

Mayon, in Albay province, is one of the Philippines’ most active volcanoes and sits close to populated communities, which is why even a moderate but sustained eruption carries serious public-safety and aviation relevance.