LEGAZPI CITY, Philippines, Dec. 20 (UPI) -- Rumblings within the Mayon volcano in Albay province mean a major eruption could occur within days, Filipino authorities said Sunday.
A volcano alert was raised Sunday from a Level 3 to a Level 4, meaning an eruption was imminent, GMANews.tv reported.
State volcanologists said an eruption could pose a danger to people as far as 4 miles and 5 miles away.
"Areas just outside of this extended danger zone should prepare for evacuation in the event explosive eruptions intensify," the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said in a statement Sunday.
At least 463 quakes occurred within the volcano Sunday and rumblings could be heard throughout the region, The Philippine Inquirer reported.
The volcano's crater had taken on an intense glow and its lava flow had spread nearly 3 miles down the slope along the Bonga-Buyuan Gully.
Nearly 40,000 residents were evacuated from the area within the last week. School officials planned to set up tents for the thousands of children whose classes were disrupted by the evacuation.
