Mt. Bulusan. MA. LOURDES GAUFO/INQUIRER SOUTHERN LUZON FILE PHOTO
LEGAZPI CITY, Albay — Mount Bulusan in Sorsogon province erupted on Thursday, spewing out ash-laden steam for 15 minutes, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said.
Ed Laguerta, Phivolcs resident volcanologist here, said the phreatic (steam-driven) explosion was classified as “low intensity” and should not alarm residents.
In a bulletin released at 8 a.m. Thursday, Phivolcs said at least 40 volcanic earthquakes were recorded in a 24-hour monitoring period from Wednesday to Thursday.
Laguerta said the eruption could not be observed due to thick clouds covering the summit on Thursday morning.
He said Phivolcs’ instruments also recorded “harmonic tremors,” with rumbling sound heard in Barangay San Roque in Bulusan town. Some areas in Gubat town, he said, experienced minimal ashfall.
Laguerta said the harmonic tremors were produced by hydrothermal pressure, and not magma.
Phivolcs also advised at least 188 families (728 people) living in a community near the volcano in Irosin town to protect themselves from gas and ash being spewed out by a fissure on Bulusan’s slopes in the past week.
Alex Baloloy, Phivolcs volcanologist, said the agency advised the Irosin Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management office (MDRRMO) to alert residents of Barangay Mapaso to take precautionary measures against respiratory illnesses that could be triggered by volcanic ash and sulfur dioxide expelled by a reactivated fissure on the southeast portion of the volcano’s summit.
Mapaso is five kilometers from the town center of Irosin.
The Office of Civil Defense in the Bicol region sent a team of health and environment personnel to determine the extent of hazard posed on the community by the volcanic gas and ash emission.
Alert level 1 (abnormal) remains hoisted over Mt. Bulusan. The 4-km permanent danger zone around the volcano remains off limits to residents and visitors. SFM
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