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LEGASPI, Philippines: Lava poured down the Philippines' Mayon volcano Wednesday as government experts warned it could erupt for months, meaning thousands of villagers will spend Christmas in evacuation centres.
Five small explosions were detected from Mayon on Wednesday morning, the last of which shot ash 500 metres into the air, government volcanologist July Sabit said.
"Lava flow and lava fragments rolling down the volcano are continuous," Sabit said.
"It is part of the eruptive activity of the volcano. There is a high probability it will be like this for months," he said.
Sabit cited Mayon's last eruption in 2006, when it emitted ash and oozed lava for two months.
The eruptions of 2006 didn't claim any lives, but left huge deposits of volcanic ash on Mayon's slopes.
When Typhoon Durian hit the same area in December 2006, it caused a landslide of volcanic ash that killed more than 1,000 people.
The government has already evacuated about 6,000 families living in farming villages near the foot of Mayon and hopes to evacuate almost 4,000 more in the next two days.
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology raised the alert level for Mayon to three on Monday after lava was seen spewing from the crater, and evacuations began immediately.
Level three on the five-point scale means a hazardous eruption is likely in the very near future.
Mayon, which sits above a farming area about 330 kilometres southeast of Manila, has erupted 48 times since records began, claiming thousands of lives.
In 1814, more than 1,200 people were killed as lava buried the town of Cagsawa.
- AFP/so/ir
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