One of the Philippines' most active volcanoes fired a dark column of ash thousands of metres into the sky on Friday (Oct 30) in a "moderately explosive eruption" that lasted nearly six minutes, the state seismology office said. There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage in towns and cities surrounding Mount Mayon, but the country's volcano institute raised the alert level from 2 to 3 on its 0-5 scale and.