Philippine authorities warned Monday that a potentially devastating eruption of the rumbling Mayon volcano was "imminent" and urged more evacuations from its lower slopes.
Materials thrown from the crater of the 8,070-foot (2,460-meter) mountain could threaten anyone within an eight-kilometer (five-mile) radius, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said.
The institute advised local officials in the central province of Albay to order the evacuation of 28 areas around the mountain, including parts of Legaspi city and the towns of Camalig, Daraga, Ligao, Malilipot, Santo Domingo and Tabaco.
"Areas just outside of these (villages) should prepare for evacuation in the event explosive eruptions intensify," the advisory said.
Volcanologists previously said an explosive eruption by Mayon, one of the country's most active volcanologists, could threaten the lives of about 60,000 people.
Mayon has had 47 eruptions in recorded history, the latest being a mild outpouring of lava in June 2001.
The volcano with a near-perfect cone buried the town of Cagsawa in the 19th century, killing an estimated 1,000 people.
