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Official Publication of the Philippine Information Agency Bicol Regional Office, in cooperation with the RIAC-REDIRAS - RDC Bicol



Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Looking back and beyond: Commemorating the Mayon Volcano 1814 eruption

BY: SALLY ATENTO-ALTEA

LEGAZPI CITY, June 25 (PIA) – Looking back on February 1, 1814, Mayon Volcano erupted with “hot stones, sand and ashes poured forth from the crater, and villages were thus set on fire, and their inhabitants killed.”

This, so far is the worst and deadliest Mayon eruption ever recorded which according to accounts of “Blair and Robinson”engulfed and destroyed many villages in Albay and Camarines and claimed some 12,000 lives besides many more seriously injured. Those who escaped lost all their possessions.
Two hundred years after, the provincial government of Albay under Governor Joey Salceda earlier led the commemoration of this fateful eruption through the month-long Cagsawa Festival which featured not only the history and culture of Albay but also the strength and resiliency of its people.

This time, the province of Albay has teamed up with the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHILVOLCS) to hold another commemoration through a two-day activity that will look back and gather learnings to strengthen the awareness and preparedness of the people.

“The objectives of the activity are to provide a venue to commemorate, gather learnings/contribution to science and local community awareness and preparedness of the 1814 eruption event of Mayon Volcano, and discuss the benefits and future needs that can be utilized by the stakeholders, ” PHIVOLCS director Renato Solidum Jr. said.

The two-day activity entitled “Looking Back and Preparing for the Possible Worst Case Eruption of Mayon Volcano (A hazard awareness activity for the worst recorded eruption of Mayon Volcano) is slated on June 26-27, 2014.

The commemorative activities will be consist of a conference on the first day and will focus on science and local actions to be discussed by local and foreign experts from New Zealand, Japan, United States, Singapore and Indonesia.

Fieldwork related to the 1814 eruption and relevant structures on preparedness pioneered by the province of Albay under Governor Salceda will be done on the second day.

The historic background and significance of the eruption will be imparted by Solidum together with historian Danilo Madrid Gerona, Ph.D., PHIVOLCS Volcano Monitoring and Eruption Prediction Division (VMEPD) chief Ma. Antonia V. Bornas and New Zealand Christchurch City Council environmental officer Ma. Hannah Mirabueno.

Furthermore Dr. Christopher Newhall, United States Geological Survey emeritus, will discuss the “Scenario of Possible Precursors to the Next “1814” Eruption of Mayon while Dr. Tetsou Bobayashi, Kagoshima University professor in Japan, will speak on “New Innovative Approach to Past 20,000 Years.”

Also to be cited are “Lessons from Experiences: People’s Narratives of Past Eruptions” by Mylene Villegas of PHIVOLCS and May 2013 Experience of Hikers by Joseph Wyne Manjares as Chapter Representative on Safety.

Dr. Cedric Daep, Albay Public Safety and Emergency Office (APSEMO) chief will likewise feature the Preparedness, Emergency Planning and Good practices of the province.

To be visited on the second day are Mabinit Channel where the complete eruption sequence since 1814 will be traced back until years 2000 to 2009 as shown by the changes in landscapes and channels, deposits of lava and pyroclastic materials and effects of supertyphoon Reming lahars.

Religious ruins of the churches in Cagsawa and Budiao, being the remaining witness of Mt. Mayon’s fury, will of course not to be excluded in the itinerary. (MAL/SAA-PIA5/Albay)

- See more at: http://news.pia.gov.ph/index.php?article=2571403685318#sthash.KxfzSyq3.dpuf

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