ASIA
Laos,
February 23, 2000-- U.S. citizens traveling in Laos are advised to
avoid travel to the Muang Khoune and Paxai Districts in Xieng Khouang
Province. The Lao Government has restricted travel by foreign tourists
to Muang Khoune District in Xieng Khouang Province because of poor road
conditions. The U.S. Government also has received credible reports of
violent incidents in that district. Travelers to certain areas of Xieng
Khouang Province, now including Muang Khoune and Paxai Districts, run
the risk of ambush by insurgents or bandits. Visitors should check conditions
with local authorities or the U.S. Embassy in Vientiane before undertaking
road travel in Xieng Khouang Province outside the Phonsavanh/Plain of
Jars area.
Philippines, February 24, 2000-- The Philippine Government has
issued a level five alert for the area around Mayon Volcano in Albay Province.
This alert level means there is a hazardous eruption in progress. Occurrences
of pyroclastic flows* may continue and are expected to sweep down along
well-incised gullies and channels, especially the Bonga gully. Ash-fall
occurrences mainly at places west, southwest, and northwest of the crater
are expected due to extensive and tall eruption columns (20,000 feet above
sea level) and elutriation clouds.
The Philippine Government has established an 8 kilometer (5 mile) danger
zone around the volcano. The provincial Disaster Management Board reports
that all residents within the danger zone have been evacuated. Three Peace
Corps volunteers have been temporarily moved from the Mayon vicinity.
The largest city in the vicinity is Legazpi City, which is about 10 miles
from the volcano.
The U.S. Embassy urges Americans contemplating travel to the vicinity
of Mayon Volcano to carefully evaluate the potential danger of such travel.
Americans in the area are urged to strictly observe any Philippine Government
restrictions on travel into the permanent danger zone, and to pay close
attention to daily status reports issued by the Philippine Institute of
Volcanology and Seismology.
*Pyroclastic Flow: High-speed avalanche of hot ash, rock fragments, and
gas that moves down the sides of a volcano during explosive eruptions
or when the steep edge of a dome breaks apart and collapses. Pyroclastic
flows are capable of knocking down and burning everything in their paths.
Vietnam
and Cambodia, March 8, 2000-- United States citizens visiting or residing
in Vietnam and Cambodia are advised to be especially alert during events
leading up to Vietnam's April observance of the twenty-fifth anniversary
of the end of the Vietnam War. There are reports that a number of individuals
inside and outside of Vietnam and Cambodia may seek to mar these events
with acts of violence in Ho Chi Minh City and other urban centers in Vietnam.
Other potential targets are foreign businesses in Vietnam and Vietnamese
affiliated facilities in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Vietnamese authorities
have increased their protective functions in anticipation of potential
threats. American
citizens in Vietnam should contact the U.S. Embassy in Hanoi on tel. (844)
843-1500 or the U.S. Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City on tel. (848)
822-9433, and those in Cambodia should contact the U.S. Embassy in Phnom
Penh on tel. - (855-23)216-436 for up to date information.
Maps courtesy of 4maps.com.
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laura@worldtravelcenter.com
Phone: 1-800-234-1862
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