LEGAZPI CITY, Philippines, Jan. 2 (UPI) -- Thousands of Filipino evacuees began returning home Saturday after volcanologists said the Mayon volcano no longer was in danger of imminent eruption.
The alert raised to Level 4 Dec. 14 was downgraded Saturday to Level 3, allowing 47,000 displaced residents to begin leaving shelters, volcanologist Ed Laguerta said.
An estimated 600 families were to remain in shelters, however, until a Level 2 alert was declared for residential areas near the southeastern slope of the volcano where lava had flowed.
The amount of energy released from the volcano in recent weeks made the
possibility of a hazardous eruption remote, Laguerta said.
The volcano had ejected no ash since Tuesday and steam emissions were weakening, Laguerta told the Philippine Star. Sulfur dioxide levels also had weakened from a maximum of 8,993 tons per day to 2,521 tons per day.
The volcano's activity peaked Dec. 24-26, when it emitted a spectacular flow of lava, said July Sabit, a spokeswoman for the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology.
