Bulusan erupts anew; 8 quakes recorded

MANILA, Philippines - Mount Bulusan in Sorsogon spewed ash anew after midnight yesterday, blanketing several villages, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) reported. 

The phreatic eruption, the third this week, occurred at 12:34 a.m. and lasted for about 20 minutes.

 Phivolcs said ashfall was reported in Barangay Inlagadian in Casiguran town and Tugawe, Bulacao and Tigkiw in Gubat. 

Traces of volcanic ash were observed in Barangays Ariman, Bentuco, Buenavista, Nazareno and Rizal in Gubat; Barcelona Proper and Tagdon in Barcelona and Escuala and Casay in Casiguran. 

Phivolcs said the explosion was accompanied by rumbling sounds that were heard in Barangay Inlagadian. 

Eight volcanic earthquakes were recorded around Bulusan in the past 24 hours, it added. 

Renato Solidum, Phivolcs director, said there is still no imminent threat of a major eruption. 

“The alert level is maintained as we see possible phreatic eruptions in the future, but we have not seen significant signs yet of magma rising to the surface,” Solidum told The STAR. 

Alert Level 1 remains in effect on Bulusan, which means that there is still significant activity underneath it that may lead to steam-driven or phreatic eruptions.

Phivolcs reiterated its warning to the public against entering the four-kilometer permanent and extended danger zones due to increased possibilities of sudden and hazardous phreatic eruptions.