More than 300 families were evacuated after a collapse of lava deposits on Mayon Volcano triggered a pyroclastic flow and heavy ashfall over the weekend. Officials reported no casualties but ash affected 87 villages across three towns, damaging vegetable farms and killing four water buffaloes and one cow in Camalig. Mayon — a 2,462-meter volcano and the Philippines' most active — remains on heightened alert and under close monitoring.
Over 300 Families Evacuated After Massive Ashfall From Mayon Volcano
Mayon volcano spews ash as seen from Camalig, Albay province, Philippines on Saturday May 2, 2026. (Christian Añonuevo Lorilla via AP)(ASSOCIATED PRESS)
MANILA, Philippines (AP) — More than 300 families were evacuated after heavy ash and volcanic debris swept over nearby communities following the collapse of lava deposits on the slopes of Mayon Volcano, officials said Monday.
There was no explosive eruption, but large accumulations of cooled lava on the volcano's southwestern flank suddenly gave way in a pyroclastic flow — a fast-moving avalanche of hot rock, ash and gas — shortly before nightfall Saturday, according to Teresito Bacolcol, director of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology.
Mayon volcano spews ash as seen from Daraga, Albay province, Philippines on Saturday, May 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Nehemiah Manzanilla Sitiar)(ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Officials reported no deaths or injuries. Nonetheless, thick ash clouds spread across 87 villages in three towns, catching many residents by surprise, reducing visibility on roads and slowing motorists.
'The ashfall was just so thick and there was zero visibility even on our national road,' said Mayor Caloy Baldo of Camalig, a town near Mayon’s foothills.
'Some villagers panicked but we advised them to calm down,' Baldo added.
Vegetable farms sustained damage from the ash, and Baldo said volcanic material killed four water buffaloes and one cow in Camalig. Local authorities have launched cleanup operations in the town of about 8,000 people in Albay province.
Mayon volcano spews ash while vehicles pass by in Daraga, Albay province, Philippines on Saturday, May 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Nehemiah Manzanilla Sitiar)(ASSOCIATED PRESS)
At 2,462 meters (8,077 feet), Mayon is famed for its near-perfect cone and is one of the Philippines’ top tourist attractions — but it is also the nation's most active volcano among 24 monitored sites. Authorities had raised the volcano's alert to Level 3 on the five-step scale in January after earlier mild eruptions caused intermittent rockfalls and deadly pyroclastic flows.
'It’s calm again now but the danger is always there,' Bacolcol said Monday, underscoring that scientists continue to closely monitor Mayon for further activity. For context, Alert Level 5 denotes an explosive, life-threatening eruption with lethal lava and pyroclastic flows and heavy ashfall.
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