Mt. Bulusan lets out another low energy eruption

Mt. Bulusan. MA. LOURDES GAUFO/INQUIRER SOUTHERN LUZON FILE PHOTO

LEGAZPI CITY, Albay – Mt. Bulusan in Sorsogon spewed out dirty white ash plume Thursday morning in another low energy steam-driven eruption, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said.

Eduardo Laguerta, resident volcanogist of Phivolcs based in Legazpi City, said the steam-driven or “phreatic” explosion, which occurred around 9 a.m., had a shallow source with minimal ash content.

Raden Dimaano, head of the Sorsogon Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, said some villages near the slopes of Mt. Bulusan in Juban town had been experiencing minimal ash fall after the ash plume was blown northwest.

The latest Phivolcs bulletin revealed that Alert Level 1 (abnormal) had remained in effect over Bulusan Volcano, as of Thursday morning. “This indicates that hydrothermal processes are ongoing beneath the volcano that may lead to more steam-driven eruptions,” it said.

Mt. Bulusan also belched out a 300-meter-high ash plume last June 19 in another low energy “phreatic” eruption. In June 10, the volcano also spewed a 2-kilometer high grayish ash plume that drifted towards the northwest during a previous “phreatic” eruption which affected 19 villages in Sorsogon.  SFM/rga

In this February 2016 file photo, Mt. Bulusan is seen belching ash into the sky. GLENN OLAYRES BELARMINO/ CONTRIBUTOR