NDRRMC: Bulusan spews ash anew

After days of relative quiet, Bulusan volcano in Sorsogon acted up again Thursday afternoon, spewing ash 500 meters high, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Coordinating Council said. According to the NDRRMC's 4 p.m. report, the ash explosion from Bulusan was recorded at 2:17 p.m. The resulting ash column was estimated at 500 meters high above the crater rim and drifting southwest. "It was recorded as explosion-type earthquake which lasted for three minutes and the ash was grayish in color," it said. The NDRRMC said Alert Level 1 remains in effect over Bulusan. The disaster agency reminded the public not to venture inside the volcano's four-kilometer permanent danger zone, which it said may be at risk to sudden steam and ash explosions. Also, the NDRRMC said residents in the northwest and southwest sectors of the volcano should take precautions against ash fall. The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology raised the alert level at Bulusan to "1" last November 6 after the volcano spewed ash and steam.—JV, GMANews.TV