<p>The evacuees were given food packages by the government and non-government organisations to celebrate the holiday away from home and the restive Mayon Volcano in Albay province, 360 km south-east of Manila.<br /><br />"We are doing our best to uplift the spirit of our provincemates this Christmas despite the inconveniences they are facing at the evacuation centres," Albay Governor Joey Salceda said.<br /><br />The Philippines Institute of Volcanology and Seismology warned that a hazardous explosion remained a strong possibility in the coming days amid Mayon's intense activity.<br />The institute said that overnight, it recorded 871 volcanic earthquakes and 96 ash explosions that reached as high as two km from the crater.<br />A total of 125 rumbling and booming sounds were heard Friday morning, an indication of rising magma, the institute said.<br /><br />Lava continued to flow out of Mayon's crater, and the lava flow had reached five km from the crater.<br />"Ninety-eight rockfall events related to detachment of lava fragments at the volcano's upper slopes were also detected," the institute said.<br />A platoon of soldiers scoured the danger zone in an eight km radius around the volcano to forcefully evacuate residents who refused to leave their homes.<br />A total of 47,558 families had been moved to 28 evacuation centres as of early Friday, according to regional disaster relief officials.<br /><br />The 2,472-metre volcano has erupted about 50 times since 1616. It last erupted in July 2006, forcing more than 30,000 people to flee their homes.<br />Mayon's most violent eruption was in 1814 when more than 1,200 people were killed and a town was buried in volcanic mud. An eruption in 1993 killed 79 people.</p>
<p>The evacuees were given food packages by the government and non-government organisations to celebrate the holiday away from home and the restive Mayon Volcano in Albay province, 360 km south-east of Manila.<br /><br />"We are doing our best to uplift the spirit of our provincemates this Christmas despite the inconveniences they are facing at the evacuation centres," Albay Governor Joey Salceda said.<br /><br />The Philippines Institute of Volcanology and Seismology warned that a hazardous explosion remained a strong possibility in the coming days amid Mayon's intense activity.<br />The institute said that overnight, it recorded 871 volcanic earthquakes and 96 ash explosions that reached as high as two km from the crater.<br />A total of 125 rumbling and booming sounds were heard Friday morning, an indication of rising magma, the institute said.<br /><br />Lava continued to flow out of Mayon's crater, and the lava flow had reached five km from the crater.<br />"Ninety-eight rockfall events related to detachment of lava fragments at the volcano's upper slopes were also detected," the institute said.<br />A platoon of soldiers scoured the danger zone in an eight km radius around the volcano to forcefully evacuate residents who refused to leave their homes.<br />A total of 47,558 families had been moved to 28 evacuation centres as of early Friday, according to regional disaster relief officials.<br /><br />The 2,472-metre volcano has erupted about 50 times since 1616. It last erupted in July 2006, forcing more than 30,000 people to flee their homes.<br />Mayon's most violent eruption was in 1814 when more than 1,200 people were killed and a town was buried in volcanic mud. An eruption in 1993 killed 79 people.</p>
