The number of people displaced by an erupting Philippine volcano soared to more than 61,000 by Wednesday, the Southeast Asian country's disaster agency said, as Mount Mayon ejected lava that produced an ash plume 5 km (3 miles) high.
The alert remains just one notch below the highest level of 5 after five more episodes of "intense but sporadic lava fountaining" from the summit crater over a 19-hour period from Tuesday morning, state volcanologists said.
Lava fountains 500-600 meters (1,640-1,970 feet) high lasted between seven minutes and more than an hour and generated ash plumes 3-5 km (2-3 miles) above the crater, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said.
Schools were shut in 17 cities and municipalities in Albay and nearby Camarines Sur province, which was also affected by ashfall. Some 56 flights were canceled because of Mayon, the Philippines' most active and most picturesque volcano.
There were 55,068 residents in temporary shelters, a substantial increase from about 40,000 on Monday. Some 6,165 evacuees were staying elsewhere.
The number of displaced increased after the provincial government expanded the danger zone around the 2,462-meter (8,077-foot) volcano to a radius of 9 km from the Phivolcs-recommended 8 km no-go zone.
The eruption is also drawing curious American, European and South Korean tourists, local hoteliers said.
"They are attracted by Mayon's activity. They want to have a closer look," Nics Ortonio, a receptionist at the packed four-star Oriental Hotel in Legazpi told AFP.
Guests rush out of their 5,600-peso ($110) per day rooms to watch Mayon's periodic outbursts in safety from the hotel's terrace restaurant along with local diners, she added.
"This is good for business, but as a resident I am also affected," said Ortonio, 22, who said she and her parents were staying put for now at their home.
The Philippines is part of the Pacific "Ring of Fire" of islands that were formed by volcanic activity.
With 51 eruptions in the past four centuries, Mayon, a near-perfect cone located about 330 kilometers southeast of Manila, is considered the most volatile of the Philippines' 22 active volcanoes.
