More than 30,000 families in the Philippines have been affected by the eruption of the Mayon volcano in southeastern Luzon, said Diego Mariano, deputy press secretary of the Civil Defense Office.
"Currently, more than 30,500 families have been affected. About 1,400 of them are in evacuation centers," he was quoted as saying by GMA News.
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology has raised the alert level to five out of five for Albay province and warned airlines against flying near the volcano. Two flights scheduled from the airport in the Bicol region to Manila and back were canceled due to the eruption.
Public and private schools will be closed on May 4 due to volcanic ash in some areas of Albay province.