this January, ranging from sputters to calamities. Many of Mayon’s eruptions have involved spraying out lava that collects at the rim. As it sputters over the top, it builds up over time, causing the steep slopes that have made it famous. For comparison, the Italian volcano Mount Vesuvius of Pompeii has also erupted over 50 times in recorded history. In the past, Mount Vesuvius has had a roughly 20-year eruption cycle, the last serious eruption in 1944. The best known eruption was in AD 79 that led to the burying and destruction of the city of Pompeii for hundreds of years under many tons of volcanic ash unfolded in much the same way -- explosions, ash raining down, air so thick that it’s hard to breathe, and then finally a pyroclastic flow -- an explosive blast that sends ash, lava, and volcanic gas raining down fast onto the sides of the volcano. It is the most devastating part of an eruption. It’s what buried Pompeii, and Mayon may erupt in a similar fashion.