Mayon Volcano erupted yesterday afternoon, raining molten boulders and ash on the surrounding area. Those of you who have never been here, Mayon is the perfect-cone volcano you see in all those Philippine postcards. It’s a few hundred miles south of Manila, so we don’t get to see any action, but think about these poor folks who keep their farms in the 6km danger zone at the foot of the volcano. Talk about front-row seats; fortunately most if not all of them were evacuated with lots of advance warning.

Here’s a photo of the eruption yesterday, showing the intense pyroclastic flows and ash clouds surrounding the irascible mountain.