On Monday, the Philippines’ Mayon volcano turned up the heat with lava fountains and loud rumbling, and it was getting closer to a major eruption that could come at any time, officials said.

As a precaution, tens of thousands of villagers have been evacuated from the foothills as but authorities are having trouble keeping them away from their homes and farms, said Gov. Joey Salceda of Albay province, about 340 kilometers southeast of Manila.

He said, “There are people who have been evacuated three times and we sigh: ‘You again?’ We’ve been playing cat and mouse with them.”

State volcanologists said that the 2,460-meter mountain overlooking the Gulf of Albay and Legazpi city in the central Philippines switched into high gear Monday with nearly 2,000 volcanic earthquakes and tremors since Sunday after a week of puffing out ash and sending bursts of lava trickling down its steep slopes.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said that the emission of sulfur dioxide—an indication of magma rising inside the volcano—jumped to 6,000 tons per day from the normal 500. “Audible booming and rumbling sounds” in the eastern flank of the volcano were accompanied by intensified crater glow at night, it also reported.

(article and photo source: The Associated Press)