Philippines raises alert level at restive volcano after spewing cloud of ash

A view of the Mount Bulusan volcano in Irosin city of Sorsogon province, south of Manila, February 23, 2011. REUTERS/Erik de Castro

MANILA, June 5 (Reuters) – A restive volcano within the central Philippines spewed a column of ash not less than 1 km (0.6 mile) into the sky on Sunday, prompting authorities to boost the alert at Mount Bulusan by one notch and remind residents to not enter the hazard zone.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology raised its alert on Bulusan to degree 1, or low degree of volcanic unrest, from 0 on a five-level scale, which suggests it’s at the moment in an “irregular situation.”

Within the 24 hours earlier than the eruption, 77 volcanic earthquakes had been recorded, the institute mentioned in an announcement.

Renato Solidum, the top of the institute, described Bulusan’s eruption as “phreatic”, or steam-driven, which is typical of Bulusan Volcano.

“The precaution is identical, no entry within the 4 km radius everlasting hazard zone, and naturally, one must be protected kind ashfall if there can be ashfall within the space, like sporting of masks or staying indoors,” Solidum advised Reuters.

The massive cloud of ash from Bulusan turned the skies gray, as seen in a video shared on Fb by a resident of Casiguran city on Bulusan’s northern slopes.

Bulusan, among the many Philippines’ 24 lively volcanoes, final erupted in June 2017, the institute mentioned.

The Philippines is within the Pacific “Ring of Hearth,” the place volcanic exercise and earthquakes are frequent.

Mount Pinatubo, on Luzon island within the northern Philippines, erupted in 1991 after mendacity dormant for 600 years. That eruption buried dozens of villages beneath tonnes of mud. Greater than 800 individuals died, principally from illnesses in crowded evacuation camps.

Reporting by Karen Lema and Adrian Portugal; Modifying by William Mallard

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