Bulusan releases 2.5-km ash; 4th explosion in a week

Mount Bulusan in Irosin, Sorsogon on Sunday afternoon erupted for the fourth time this month.

Raden Dimaano, chief of the Sorsogon Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, said the volcano spewed a 2.5-kilometer ash column at 3:31 p.m.

Dimaano told radio dzBB that the volcano's phreatic eruption lasted for about 15 minutes.

Dimaano said only minimal presence of ashfall was monitored by the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS).

The volcano's first ash explosion was recorded on October 17. It was followed by eruptions on October 19 and 21.

In its bulletin issued at 8 a.m. Sunday, PHIVOLCS said 29 volcanic earthquakes were detected in Bulusan during the past 24 hours.

Alert Level 1 remains hoisted over Mount Bulusan, which means "hydrothermal processes are ongoing beneath the volcano that may lead to more steam-driven eruptions."

Extended danger zone

Following the first eruption, PHIVOLCS declared an extended danger zone on the southern flank of Mount Bulusan by two kilometers.

PHIVOLCS cited the "recent low-magnitude phreatic eruptions" from three sources: the summit crater, the northwest and southeast vents.

Among the recent eruptions cited by the PHIVOLCS were the events on September 30 and last Monday.

"While these eruption sources are within the Four-Kilometer Radius Permanent Danger Zone or PDZ wherein habitation is strictly prohibited due to a permanently high degree of hazards, the southeast vents bring about increased concern," the agency said in an announcement on Tuesday afternoon.

It said that southeast vents, which "pose a potential source of eruption," is close to the barangays Mapaso, Irosin, and San Roque, Bulusan. —Joseph Tristan Roxas/ALG, GMA News