MAYON VOLCANO SPEWS ASH, LAVA

LAVA AND ASH FLOW FROM PHILIPPINE VOLCANO
EXPERTS FEAR MAJOR ERUPTION VERY SOON

MANILA (Reuters) - The Philippines' most active volcano spewed ash as high as 500 meters and burning rocks and mud a kilometer down its slopes on Wednesday and volcanologists expect a major hazardous eruption soon. The Mayon volcano, which has blown its top nearly 40 times in 400 years, menaced nearby residents with small eruptions of ash and lava. It spewed burning mud and rocks for a third day. Volcanologists recorded at least five minor explosions from Mayon volcano, famed for its near-perfect cone shape in a coconut-growing region of the central Philippines, in Albay province. During the day, the summit is shrouded in white clouds of dust and ash, and dark orange lava becomes clearly visible in the nighttime. The volcano is a popular tourist attraction at Legazpi city on the foothills of the cone-shaped mountain. Many people, from a safe distance, have been enjoying the spectacle as lava spews from its perfect cone.

Philippine authorities have evacuated more than 30,000 people from around Mayon's danger zones, to shelters in case of a larger eruption. Trickles of lava rolled down the 8,070-foot mountain towering over the central Philippines, while five new ash explosions, one of them reaching 550 yards in the air, shook Mayon's steep slopes, said chief state volcanologist Renato Solidum. He also said lava had rolled down about 1 km from the summit while burning rocks have started detaching from the crater summit, generating ash falls in two towns near Mayon's slope. Solidum advised people in three cities and five towns near the base of the volcano to cover their noses and mouth with masks or wet cloths to prevent inhaling ash from the volcano. "The danger is when residents inhale the fine ash and this weakens their lungs, especially those with lung ailments," he later explained. The Philippines lies on the "Ring of Fire," a belt of volcanoes circling the Pacific Ocean that is also prone to earthquakes. Mayon is the most active of 22 volcanoes in the country, having erupted more than 50 times in the last four centuries. The last time Mayon erupted was in 2006.

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US?

A firm confidence that the Supreme Lord will protect us in all circumstances is needed. In fact, who is saving us from all the dangers and calamities that are hovering around us every moment ? … This firmness in his belief makes him steady ever the more. This spirit of confidence saves him from the unsteady nature of the mind. It laughs in time of dangers. It strengthens his weak enthusiasm. It enables him to overcome his enemies within. It makes the life of a striver light and easy, and his journey remarkably smooth and pleasant.

Śrīla Bhakti Vaibhava Purī Mahārāj :
"Guru and Atma Nivedan" - ‘Firm Confidence in the Lord’
Śrī Krishna Chaitanya Mission.