20K Flee Filipino Volcano

Major Mayon eruption seen as imminent

(AP) - Almost all of the 47,000 residents living on the slopes of a rumbling volcano in the central Philippines have moved to emergency shelters, as quakes grew stronger yesterday and red hot lava flows reached three miles from the crater. Scientists raised Mayon's alert level to one step below a hazardous eruption; the only higher level is when a major eruption is in progress. "Hazardous eruption can happen today or in the next few days," said the chief state volcanologist, adding that an eruption also may not happen. "Nobody has a 100% accuracy." More»

(NEWSER) - Alaska’s Mount Redoubt volcano is rumbling again, and an explosive eruption could come at any time, the Anchorage Daily News reports. “Seismic and rockfall activity increasing,” warned a volcano observatory. “Eruption likely in coming days; could occur at any time with little or no warning.” Redoubt last blew its top April 4 after weeks of explosions that sent ash miles into the air. More»

Column of ash measured 16K feet

(NEWSER) - Mount Etna is at it again: Europe's most active volcano burst to life again yesterday morning, spewing lava and sending a pillar of ash 16,000 feet into the air, ITN reports. Experts say there's no danger to nearby villages, however, and so far no flights have been canceled—though the nearby Catania airport did hold a crisis meeting to discuss the possibility, according to Sky News . More»

Many were caught sleeping

(AP) - Pounding rain from a tropical storm swelled rivers and sent walls of water crushing into two southern Philippine cities in the thick of night, killing at least 436 people, many caught in their beds, officials said today. The Philippine Red Cross says the latest toll was based on a body count in funeral parlors. Of those, 215 died in Cagayan de Oro and 144 in nearby Iligan, and the rest in several other southern and central provinces. More»

The mass keeps growing and growing ...

(NEWSER) - An underwater volcano near the Canary Islands has been gushing lava for three weeks and might just form a brand-new island. The erupting magma has reached 330 feet above the sea floor, and it needs to reach up another 490 feet to break the surface of the Atlantic, reports Der Spiegel . Residents are already brainstorming names for the potential landmass including the Discovery, Atlantis, and the Best. More»