100 families abandon homes as Mount Bulusan ejects more ash

Mount Bulusan spewed ash and pebbles in a new explosion Sunday. A television report said 100 families living near the volcano evacuated to a safer area. The ash explosion was the eighth and the strongest since March. Officials of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said they would assess the possibility of a major eruption. But they said they could not immediately obtain details about the latest blast due to clouds shrouding the volcano's summit. Wind was blowing ash from the mid-afternoon explosion northwest toward the farming towns of Casiguran and Juban, which have been grappling with volcanic ash and fears of a major eruption since the 1,565-meter volcano came back to life in March. "It was a loud blast, there are pebbles and it's getting dark," Casiguran Mayor Edwin Hamor told The Associated Press by cellular phone as he rushed by car to a village in the path of falling ash. The 100 families, who initially refused to leave their homes less than three miles from the crater, have agreed to move in with relatives or to a temporary relocation site. The volcano spewed a column of ash two kilometers high. Early on Sunday, Phivolcs issued a bulletin saying it had recorded four volcanic earthquakes and one brief tremor during the past 24-hour observation period. The ash explosion was not preceded by volcanic quakes and may just be the result of hot rocks coming into contact with groundwater, said Phivolcs’ Julio Sabit. He said that more explosions were expected but would not say if the volcano might erupt. Television news footage showed a huge, dark-gray column of ash rising above the clouds blanketing Bulusan’s upper slopes. Radio reports from the scene said a loud explosion had been heard from the crater and that the falling ash had turned vegetation, houses and even cattle around the volcano, white. However there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage. Experts have warned that a major eruption could threaten the lives of at least 20,000 people in a "worst-case scenario." The Phivolcs has warned people to stay clear of the four-kilometer Permanent Danger Zone around Mount Bulusan as the area is hazardous to sudden steam or ash explosions. Residents near river or stream channels have also been warned against sudden volcanic flows because ash and other volcanic deposits from the upper slopes may be "remobilized and impact" areas near the 4-km PDZ, the Phivolcs bulletin said. Phivolcs chief Renato Solidum said alert level 2 remains in effect on Bulusan. A GMA News Flash Report just minutes before the explosion reported that the Army’s 2nd Infantry Battalion was conducting “clearing operations" within the four-kilometer permanent danger zone around Bulusan in advance of evacuations scheduled for Monday. Bulusan is one of the most active of the 22 volcanoes that have erupted within recorded history in the Philippines. It has erupted 15 times, most recently in November 1994. President Arroyo inspected Casiguran and other towns Saturday and ordered local officials to ensure villagers were evacuated from dangerous areas. - GMANews.TV with reports from Inq7.net and the Associated Press