Bulusan explodes; ash blankets 16 villages in 3 towns



Associated Press
Last updated 08:53pm (Mla time) 10/30/2006


(2ND UPDATE) RESTIVE Bulusan volcano belched ash anew on Monday, but scientists said there was no evidence it was gearing up for a major eruption.

The 1,560-meter (5,149-foot) Mount Bulusan exploded before noon, spewing ash for 30 minutes up to a kilometer (0.6 mile) into the cloudy sky, said Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) director Renato Solidum.

He said rainwater converted into steam could have triggered the explosion.

It was the fourth ash explosion since Bulusan showed signs of renewed restiveness this month.

Despite the latest activity, Solidum said Bulusan's alert status, which is at the lowest level, will not be raised.

"We don't see any rise in a new batch of magma" or evidence of an imminent eruption, he added.

The ash from the 11:56 a.m. explosion drifted north-northwest and blanketed 16 barangays (villages) in the towns of Casiguran, Gubat and Prieto-Diaz.

Gubat Mayor Deogracias Ramos said traces of ash were noted in Barangays Bentuco, Bulacao, Tabi, Buenavista and Rizal.

In Prieto Diaz, ashfall reached the barangays of Carayat, San Fernando, Calao, Ulag, Sta. Lourdes, Bulawan, San Isidro, Gogon and Poblacion, said Mayor Benito Doma, who immediately conducted an inspection.

In Casiguran, Barangays Inlagadian and Escuala reported traces of ash.

"The activity was accompanied by audible rumblings and was reflected in the seismograms as an explosion-type earthquake that lasted for 35 minutes," Phivolcs said in a bulletin.

Volcanologist Bella Tubianosa warned residents to prepare for lahar flows anytime, as rains are expected in the province in the coming weeks. She said a large volume of ash deposits was still present at the slopes of Mt. Bulusan.

Last week, lahar flows destroyed at least 16 houses at Barangay Patag in Irosin town.

Mayor Edwin Hamor of Casiguran, at the foot of the volcano, said he has alerted residents to the risk that rain could wash volcanic debris down its slopes, and of the health hazards from ash explosions.

Hamor said falling ash may exacerbate the predicament of those whose houses remain roofless after being damaged by powerful Typhoon Xangsane, which battered the country late last month.

Bulusan came back to life in March and has been intermittently expelling ash and steam.

It is one of 22 active volcanoes in the Philippines, which lies in the Pacific Ocean's "Ring of Fire," where volcanic activity and earthquakes are common.

With a report from Bobby Labalan, Inquirer Southern Luzon