Ash fall causes traffic in Bicol highway

LEGAZPI CITY, Philippines  – Thick ash fall caused traffic to snarl along the Juban-Irosin national highway Sunday morning, forcing Sorsogon Gov. Raul Lee to order the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) to use fire­trucks to flush them out.

Bulusan volcano’s highest explosion so far at 7:22 a.m. Sunday blanketed the vil­lages of Cogon, Sangkayon, Monbon, Irosin proper, Umagon, Bolos and Gulang-gulang in Irosin town, and Tulatula, Busay and Sioton in Magallanes town with three millimeter thick volcanic ash.

Hundreds of buses as well as private vehicles use the Juban-Irosin-Gate road network to reach Matnog for a ferry ride to Samar and Leyte.

Health officials also ordered residents in the affected areas to use face masks or wet handkerchiefs to prevent the inhalation of sulfur.

The phreatic explosion forced the evacuation of some 500 families from Irosin town and another 42 families from Juban town to various designated evacuation centers.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said seismic network recorded 33 volcanic earthquakes during the past 24-hour observation period.

The bulletin said one of the recorded quakes was an explosion type that accompanied the 7:22 a.m. Sunday ash-driven explosion.