Return to Transcripts main page

American Morning

Volcano Erupts in Philippines; Villagers Return to Homes Despite Warnings

Aired June 25, 2001 - 11:04   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: In the Central Philippines, villagers returned to their mountainside homes today despite warnings the Mayon volcano may blow again. That volcano boiled over Sunday, spitting ash and rock 9 miles high, sending lava cascading toward homes.

Experts say the Mayon may be active for two weeks. And that means it's capable of spreading more than 2 billion cubic feet of lava in the process.

Let's check in now with CNN's Maria Ressa, who has been out covering the eruption all day. She joins us now by phone.

Maria, where exactly are you right now?

MARIA RESSA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Leon, right now, we are near the base of the volcano, traveling north of it. The government declared a state of calamity here. It is about 11:00 at night.

Most of the villagers have returned back to the evacuation centers. That's been the path that they follow during the day. Many of the men return to their farm, their land; then they go back into the evacuation sites at night. There are tens of thousands of people, about nearly 30,000 people in evacuation centers. That number is expected to grow.

There was a short lull in volcanic activity on Monday. But officials warn they expect more eruptions. This cycle of activity is expected to last from one to two weeks. Today, on Monday, was a very sunny day, although it was extremely hazy. You could actually almost see the particles of ash hanging in the air -- very, very different from the very clear visibility in the video we've seen on Saturday -- spectacular sight, when you could see lava flowing down the sides of Mayon volcano and when the eruptions actually began started on Sunday -- Mayon spewing out pyroclastic flows.

That's a mixture of hot gases, ash and volcanic debris, including rocks the size of trucks -- Leon.

HARRIS: How bad -- can you say right now how bad the devastation is that you have seen?

RESSA: Well, certainly, this has been the worst eruption, according to officials -- and from what we've seen -- since 1993, when the eruption leveled many of the compounds and the residents living near -- the houses in the area.

At this point, though, it's been a relatively safe eruption, mostly because the people in this area are very used to this. Mayon is the most active volcano in the Philippines. They have this down -- the evacuation plans down nearly like clockwork. It's been quite orderly. There have been no casualties so far. Two people were killed, one of a heart attack, the other of an automobile accident.

Officials do warn that the farmers who keep going up to their farms near the 8 kilometer danger zone, stay away, at least for now.

HARRIS: Thank you, Maria Ressa, reporting live for us on the phone from the Philippines, where that Mayon volcano continues to rumble.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com