More than 300 families were evacuated in the Philippines due to ash rising from an erupting volcano

More than 300 families were evacuated in the Philippines after massive amounts of ash spewed from Mayon Volcano over the weekend as lava deposits collapsed from its slopes, officials said today.

There was no explosive eruption from Mayon, which has been erupting mildly and intermittently since January, but huge deposits of lava on its southwestern slope suddenly descended in a pyroclastic flow — an avalanche of hot rock, ash and gas — before Saturday night, said Teresito Paculcol, director of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology.

Officials said that there were no reports of deaths or injuries, but huge clouds of ash spread over 87 villages in three towns, surprising many and slowing down the movement of motorists due to poor visibility.

“The ash fall was very heavy and visibility was non-existent,” said Calo Baldo, mayor of the town of Camalig, located near the foot of the volcano.

“Some villagers panicked, but we advised them to calm down,” Baldo told the Associated Press (AP).

“The situation is calm again now, but the danger is always there,” Bakulkol said about Mayon’s situation on Monday.

The 2,462-meter (8,077-foot) volcano is one of the Philippines’ top tourist attractions due to its almost perfect conical shape, but it is also the most active of the country’s 24 volcanoes.