The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said people residing near Mt. Bulusan (also known as Bulusan Volcano) have already prepared for evacuation after Bulusan’s first ash explosion over the weekend. “Kilala nila ang ugali ng bulkan. Dala nila kumot at unan nila, nagdala sila ng kaldero," NDRRMC head Benito Ramos said in an interview on dzXL radio on Tuesday. (It appears the residents are used to Bulusan’s activity. When they were evacuated, they brought their own pillows and blankets. Some even brought their cooking utensils.) Disaster management agencies are coordinating their plans to protect residents in six towns in Sorsogon who may be affected if Mt. Bulusan erupts. These towns include:
Juban; Irosin; Casiguran; Gubat; Barcelona, and Busulan. On Saturday, at least 34 families or 205 people near Bulusan were evacuated from Casiguran town, one of the areas likely to be affected by Bulusan. Meanwhile, Ramos said government preparations are still ongoing for possible evacuation, including mobilizing dump trucks and 6 by 6 trucks. He also said the Department of Health (DOH) and the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) are preparing to distribute gas masks in areas that may be affected by ash fall and sulfur. “Kasama dito ang pinaghandaan nilang gas mask ang nilalagay sa ilong para di malanghap ang usok ng bulkan. Yan ang paghanda natin (They are preparing gas masks to protect residents from smoke from the volcano)," he said. He said Sorsogon provincial disaster management officials have activated their contingency plan to deal with possible problems from Bulusan. “Yung contingency plan na meron sila, ina-activate nila, provincial at OCD (Sorsogon provincial disaster management officials have activated their contingency plans and they are coordinating with the Office of the Civil Defense)," he added. The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology raised the alert level at Bulusan to “1" following an ash explosion there onSaturday. –VVP, GMANews.TV 
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