Bulusan still active, villagers warned

LEGAZPI CITY – Bulusan volcano in Sorsogon remains active two days after it shot a column of ash high into the air, volcanologists said yesterday.

“Moderate emission of white steam clouds from the active craters and fissures was observed,” the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said.

However, the number of minor earthquakes detected in the Bulusan volcano declined to only eight in the past 24 hours compared to 46 the previous day, the institute added.

Another eruption could still take place and residents around the volcano were warned to beware of deadly volcanic mudflows that could cascade down Bulusan’s slopes in the event of heavy rains.

The 1,559-meter tall volcano erupted on Tuesday morning with a burst of ash that shot six kilometers above the crater.

There were no reports of casualties or damage but the ash showered at least 11 villages in the towns of Irosin and Juban, raising fears that people’s breathing could be affected.

Volcanologist Ed Laguerta said the explosion “pulverized the old volcanic materials that were deposited on the volcano’s vent.”

Laguerta accompanied Phivolcs director Renato Solidum and regional civil defense director Raffy Alejandro in an aerial survey of Bulusan yesterday morning.

Bulusan is one of the country’s 22 active volcanoes. It is known to have erupted 16 times previously, the last one being in early 2006. Human settlements are banned within four kilometers of the crater. – AFP, Celso Amo