Name: Gideon Offer Owusu Acheampong Offei

No. : 6916216

Question : Describe a Volcanic Eruption that has occurred and its effects.

MAYON ERUPTION

Mayon is the most active volcano in the Philippines, erupting over 50 times in the past 500 years.The first
eruption for which an extended account exists was the six-day event of July 20, 1766.

1814 eruption

An old photograph of the Cagsawa ruins with the façade still standing. The church was largely destroyed
during the 1814 eruption of Mayon. Only the bell tower exists today.

The most destructive eruption of Mayon occurred on February 1, 1814 . Lava flowed but less than the
1766 eruption. The volcano belched dark ash and eventually bombarded the town of Cagsawa with
tephra that buried it. Trees burned, and rivers were certainly damaged. Proximate areas were also
devastated by the eruption, with ash accumulating to 9 m (30 ft) in depth. In Cagsawa, 1,200 locals
perished in what is considered to be the most lethal eruption in Mayon's history according to PHIVOLCS.
The eruption is believed to have contributed to the accumulation of atmospheric ash together with the
catastrophic 1815 eruption of other volcanoes like Indonesia's Mount Tambora, leading to the Year
Without a Summer in 1816.

1881–1882 eruption

From July 6, 1881, until approximately August 1882,Mayon underwent a strong (VEI=3) eruption. Samuel
Kneeland, a naturalist, professor and geologist, personally observed the volcanic activity on Christmas
Day, 1881, about five months after the start of the activity:

At the date of my visit, the volcano had poured out, for five months continuously, a stream of lava on
the Legaspi side from the very summit. The viscid mass bubbled quietly but grandly, and overran the
border of the crater, descending several hundred feet in a glowing wave, like red-hot iron. Gradually,
fading as the upper surface cooled, it changed to a thousand sparkling rills among the crevices, and, as it
passed beyond the line of complete vision behind the woods near the base, the fires twinkled like stars,
or the scintillions of a dying conflagration. More than half of the mountain height was thus illuminated.

1897 eruption
Mount Mayon in eruption on July 21, 1897

Mayon's longest uninterrupted eruption occurred on June 23, 1897 (VEI=4), which rained fire for seven
days. Lava once again flowed down to civilization. Eleven kilometers (7 miles) eastward, the village of
Bacacay was buried 15 m (49 ft) beneath the lava. In Sto.Domingo 100 people were killed by steam and
falling debris or hot rocks. Other villages like San Roque, Sta. Misericordia and Santo Niño became
deathtraps. Ash was carried in black clouds as far as 160 kilometres (99 mi) from the catastrophic event,
which killed more than 400 people.