Mount Mayon, the most active volcano in the Philippines, has been showing signs of unrest that are causing thousands of people to evacuate, officials told the Associated Press.

The volcano, which stands about 8,070 feet high, emitted lava fragments that rolled about half a mile down its side "in an ongoing gentle eruption."

Thousands have been evacuated from the area, and the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology has warned that a "hazardous eruption" could happen in a matter of weeks.

"It's already erupting, but not explosive," Renato Solidum, leader of the government volcano monitoring agency, told the AP. "Currently, the activity is just lava coming down. If there is an explosion, all sides of the volcano are threatened."

Fragments from the volcano could be seen as far as 7 miles away, volcanologist Ed Laguerta told the AP.

"We are now raising the alert status of Mayon Volcano from alert level 2 to 3," said Renato Solidum, head of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, as quoted by Reuters.

In a bulletin posted late Monday, the institute said Mount Mayon is experiencing "a noticeable escalation of unrest," CNN reported.

More than 10,000 people living in a roughly 6.7-mile radius around the volcano are being relocated, some reports putting the figure at around 12,000.

"We are praying that it would not be the worst-case scenario," Herbie Aguas, mayor of the farming town of Santo Domingo, told the AP. Back in 1897, the volcano erupted and almost wiped out his town's population.

Mount Mayon has erupted 50 times in the last half-century. Violent eruptions are characterized by hot gas and volcanic debris that put the thousands of poor villagers living in the area at risk.  

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