Mount Mayon Volcano in the Phillipines Threatens Villages, 20,000 Evacuated

Times Online -- One of the world’s most perfectly formed volcanoes oozed lava and ash overnight, threatening to explode over a picturesque tourist town in the Philippines.

Many of the 50,000 villagers living within the 6-8 km (4-5 mile) danger zone around Mount Mayon, around 310 miles (500 km) south of Manila, the capital, were evacuated earlier today. The glowing volcano loomed large over the town of Legazpi, in the Albay province, spewing lava and ash that reached a height of about 330 feet.

Renato Solidum, head of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, said magma has been rising at the volcano over the past two weeks and an explosion could be imminent.

Mount Mayon is an active stratovolcano and regarded as one of the world’s most perfectly formed volcanoes because of its symmetrical cone.