As Bulusan erupts a 3rd time, ashfall threatens residents’ health

BULUSAN, Sorsogon—Thrice during the past week, Mount Bulusan in Sorsogon belched out gray ash plumes in a series of minor phreatic (steam-driven) eruptions that sent ash raining over villages in the towns of Bulusan, Casiguran and Irosin, threatening crops and endangering the health of some residents.

Antonio Banares, 64, a resident of Barangay Central in Bulusan town near the slope of the volcano said he thought the ash falling from the sky last week was just drizzle.

“I became aware that it was ash and that the volcano had a (minor phreatic) eruption. I saw the ash thicken and I thought, this is bad, especially for my heart condition,” he said.

Banares and other residents in 11 barangays in Bulusan had been suffering from the effects of phreatic eruptions on Oct. 17, 19 and 21.

The Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (MDRRMC) of Bulusan said the villages of Dancalan, Madlawon, Poctol, Sapngan, Dapdap, Looban, Central, Sabang, Mabuhay, San Rafael and San Bernardo bore the brunt of the ashfall which dumped up to half a millimeter thick of ash.

Fumes coming from the volcano drifted to the villages of San Jose and San Francisco.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) also found small traces of ashfall in the upland barangays of San Rafael and Sabang in Irosin town during the Oct. 19 eruption.

In Casiguran town, Luisito Mendoza, the town’s MDRRMC officer, said at least 350 houses were covered by ash in Barangay Inlagadian from the Oct. 21 eruption.

At least 10 residents were treated for vomiting and stomach ache, said Mendoza. Masks were also distributed to residents.
He said “if the situation gets worse,” officials would order preemptive evacuation.

Nerma Ricero, principal of Inlagadian Elementary School, canceled classes Friday after 310 students reported difficulty in concentrating on their lessons. Bulusan Mayor Mike Guysayko also ordered classes suspended in eight elementary and secondary schools.

Farmer Salvador Hajas, 33, said the continued eruption of Bulusan volcano is destroying crops. “Our produce are affected. They get rotten due to ash,” he said.

Renard Fullon Garados, MDRMMC officer in Bulusan town, said officials are conducting an inventory of households that need to be moved to safer grounds.

Garados said residents and local government officials see no cause for panic yet since the ashfall has not been catastrophic.

Ed Laguerta, Phivolcs resident volcanologist based in Legazpi City, said in a previous interview that the steam-driven eruptions are “normal occurences” in Bulusan. Phivolcs has recorded at least 20 eruptions since May last year.

“What we are closely checking is the presence of fresh magma expelled by the volcano, indicating that magma is developing beneath the vent,” he said.

Government volcanologists gather ash samples from every eruption to determine traces of fresh magma, Laguerta said.

Garados, however, said volcanic ash is harmful to people with weak lungs and who are suffering from asthma.

He said the Bulusan MDRRMC had already supplied barangays with medicines for residents who need these.

Phivolcs extended the radius of the permanent danger zone around Mount Bulusan from 4 km to 6 km. The extension was ordered by Phivolcs on Oct. 18 after the Oct. 17 phreatic eruption but it became effective Oct. 19 after the second eruption. Alert level one remains in effect over Bulusan volcano.