Mt. Bulusan spews ash for the 3rd time

For the third time since Saturday, restive Mt. Bulusan (also known as Bulusan Volcano) in the Bicol Region once more spewed jets of ash on Tuesday, prompting officials to warn residents near the volcano to take precautions. Officials from the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said they recorded the volcano's latest ash ejections, which sent columns of ash almost a kilometer into the air, at about 3:45 p.m. GMA News' Rawnna Crisostomo quoted Phivolcs officials as saying that the direction of the ash explosion was toward the towns of Irosin and Juban. A radio report said Phivolcs officials advised residents near the volcano to cover their noses against possible ash fall. "People residing near valleys and streams are advised to be vigilant against sediment-laden stream flows in the event of heavy and continuous rainfall," Phivolcs added.

Rafael Alejandro of the Office of Civil Defense-Bicol Region said that in case the volcano erupts, about 80,000 residents from 70 villages of Sorsogon province's six towns could be affected. These towns include Juban, Irosin, Casiguran, Gubat, Barcelona and Bulusan. Alejandro said that while the local government was prepared for it, they still do not see the need for forced evacuation. Based on government protocols, a forced evacuation is carried once the volcanic alert level in an area is upgraded to 3. Due to its recent activity, officials said an Alert Level 1 (abnormal) remains in effect at Bulusan, even as areas within four kilometers of the summit have been classified as within the permanent danger zone. On Saturday, the restive volcano spewed a 600-meter ash column for the first time since 2006. On Monday, Mt. Bulusan spewed ash for a second time. Mount Bulusan, located 250 kilometers south-east of Manila, is one of the country's 23 active volcanoes. In its latest bulletin at 8 a.m., Phivolcs said eight volcanic quakes were record during the past 24 hours. Mt. Bulusan Watch In a related development, the Department of Public Works and Highways-Bicol together with the Sorsogon Provincial Engineering Office re-activated its "Mount Bulusan Watch," a disaster-preparedness program aimed at minimizing the adverse effects of a looming explosion. Among the components of the program is the setting up of warning signs in affected areas and distribution of information materials about Mount Bulusan. Local officials have likewise devised a re-routing plan for vehicles going in and out of the province in case lava or lahar (volcanic mudflow) flows out of Mount Bulusan. The four-kilometer permanent danger zone remains in place around the volcano, as aircrafts are discourage from flying over or near the restive volcano. Last Sunday, 205 people from 34 families in Casiguran town had already been evacuated. Mayon Meanwhile, vulcanoligists in Bicol are also closely monitoring activity inside the region's other volcano, Mount Mayon. The Phivolcs suspects that the cone-shaped volcano might be gathering up steam possibly from a new source of magma and as evidenced by the number of recent low-frequency quakes in it. — RSJ, GMANews.TV