The Albay provincial government ordered that the 7,000 families from at least 20 evacuation center to be brought back by military and police personnel to their homes inside the 7-8 kilometer extended danger zones of Mayon volcano after the government volcanologists lowered the alert level from 4 to 3.

It is because of 3 reasons such as no ash ejections were observed since December 29, rockfalls and rolling down of fragments from the lava deposits along Bonga gully and the advancing lava front are the majority of the type of earthquakes that were recorded during the past days and from a maximum of 8,993 tons per day, measured SO2 levels have also showed a decreasing trend to 2,621 tons per day.

Mayon Volcano is continuing to spew ash columns as high as 2 kilometers from its crater summit, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said yesterday. In their bulletin as of 7 a.m. had a total of 9 ash explosions observed for the past 24 hours and total of 38 volcanic earthquakes were also recorded.

The volcano’s seismic activity remained at “high level”. The bulletin added that the Phivolcs recorded 171 rock fall measures related to the detachment of lava fragments from the volcano’s upper angle.

In Legaspi, Albay, Philippines, after signs of unrest at the volcano weaken this Sunday, the Philippine government’s chief volcanologist advised not to be complacent over an eruption of Mayon volcano.

Renato Solidum said that the volcano could stay active for as long as two months, just as the same as the eruption last 2006, that it simmered for two months, dumping tons of ash on its slopes.