The most active volcano in the Philippines continues to spew lava, ash


Authorities have raised the alert level for Mount Mayon to four on a scale of five, warning residents living near the most active volcano in the Philippines that a major eruption could happen within hours.
On Monday night, an ash plume rose up to 2 miles high, and airplanes were not allowed to fly in the vicinity. A week ago, the volcano started to rumble, and rocks and debris have been tumbling down to the villages below ever since. More than 30,000 people living near the volcano in Albay province have been moved to evacuation centers, and so far there are no reports of any deaths or injuries.
Mount Mayon is 210 miles southeast of Manila, and its worst eruption took place in 1814, when more than 1,200 people were killed and the entire town of Cagsawa was buried underneath volcanic mud.
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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
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