EARTHQUAKE WARNING: Philippines struck by TEN quakes - and tremors GROWING in STRENGTH

THE Philippines has been struck by TEN earthquakes today with tremors growing in strength across its 7,000 islands as the Mount Mayon volcano erupted causing widespread evacuations after the alert level was raised to three.

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Philippines Mayon volcano spews enormous ash cloud

 
According to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs), the region has been hit by a series of small tremors on Sunday.
The first hit at 5.40am, followed by six others at 07.25am, 2.59pm, 3pm, 4.49pm, 8.01pm and 8.21pm, 9.42pm.
The earthquakes were recorded at varying magnitudes - beginning at 2.9 and moving on to record at 2.4, 2.8, 2.5, 2.2, 3.4, 2.3 and 2.4.
But the biggest were the last two earthquakes, which struck at 11.20pm and 11.49pm with a magnitude of 4.9 and a whopping 5.2.

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The 4.9 earthquake struck just off the northwestern coast of one of the Philippines 7,000 islands, near the town of Paluan.
And the huge 5.2 magnitude tremor struck in the same area, just minutes afterwards, some 9km from Paluan.
Tremors were reportedly felt in neighbouring provinces as well as in Metro Manila, residents say. However no damages nor foreshocks are expected.
Social media users immediately went online to report where they felt the earthquakes.
Earthquake in PhilippinesPHVOLCS
Earthquakes have hit the Philippines
Philippines earthquake mapPHIVOLCS
The region has been hit by a series of small tremors on Sunday
One Twitter user said: “Felt it in Pasay, i'm in 12th flr tho thought i was just dizzy and i checked the water in the bathroom immediately and confirmed it.”
Another tweeted: “Felt it here in Imus, Cavite earlier.”
And one added: “Felt the earthquake here in Manila but it was very faint."
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said no damage was expected, but aftershocks were likely.
philippines earthquakeUSGS
The Philippines has been rocked by a series of earthquakes
 
The USGS said the tremor occurred at 1549 GMT and had a depth of 21.7 miles.
The earthquakes come as the Mount Mayon volcano, located in the Albay province of central Philippines, erupted on Saturday afternoon -  followed by a further five-minute eruption on Sunday morning.
Phivolcs raised the alert to level 2 in the early hours of Sunday, which means that the current activity is "probably of magmatic origin, which could lead to more phreatic eruptions or eventually to hazardous magmatic eruptions."
A phreatic eruption, also known as a phreatic explosion, occurs when magma heats ground or surface water, resulting in steam rising into the sky.
And just a few hours later, the threat was raised again from two to three as Phivolcs warned of "hazardous eruption" within weeks or days as Mayon Volcano has exhibited "high unrest" and its magma is at the crater.
earthquakePHIVOLCS
The earthquakes were recorded at varying magnitudes
earthquakePHIVOLCS
The largest earthquake struck just off the northwestern coast
Under Alert Level 3, the extension of dangerzone in the sector where the crater rim is low will be considered.
A second ash eruption was recorded before noon on Sunday, but Phivolcs said in a subsequent bulletin that it was maintaining alert level 2.
Mayon's most destructive eruption was in February 1841, when lava flows buried a town and killed 1,200 people. It last erupted in 2014, spewing lava and forcing thousands of people to evacuate.
People are not allowed to stay within a six-kilometre "permanent danger zone" of the volcano, known for its near-perfect cone shape, following the "phreatic or steam-driven eruption", Phivolcs said.
This also suggests there is no imminent major eruption, but the disaster agency said it had ordered the evacuation of residents for the safety of their health due to expected ashfall.

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