Bulusan erupts; Phivolcs expects ashfall on 2 Sorsogon towns

LEGAZPI CITY — A phreatic (steam-driven) eruption occurred at the Bulusan Volcano in Sorsogon before noon Tuesday.

Eduardo Laguerta, of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs), said the explosion was recorded at 11:10 a.m.

He said heavy cloud cover had prevented them from measuring the height of the ash plume.

Nonetheless, Laguerta said Phivolcs projected ash fall to affect the towns of Juban and Irosin.

He stressed that any ash fall would pose no danger to residents.

Office of Civil Defense-Bicol (OCD 5) director Raffy Alejandro said they were still assessing the situation and could not immediately say if residents needed to be evacuated.

On May 7, Bulusan’s alert level was raised to number one after volcanologists observed abnormalities on the volcano.

Laguerta said they would need to get ash samples from the latest explosion to see changes in its composition and determine the possibility of a bigger eruption.