Mt. Bulusan in Sorsogon province (PNA file photo courtesy of Nonie Enolva)
LEGAZPI CITY – The Sorsogon provincial government through its response cluster canceled all activities within the 5-6-kilometer danger zone including the two-kilometer extended permanent danger zone of Bulusan Volcano.
In an interview on Friday, Salvador Mendoza, Sorsogon information office chief, said this was after the Philippine Institute of Volcano and Seismology (Phivolcs) on Wednesday placed the volcano under Alert Level 1 (low-level unrest), due to the observation of increased volcanic activity.
"Based on the response cluster emergency meeting conducted on Thursday, the public is directed to take precautionary measures since Alert Level 1 is now raised over Mt. Bulusan. Local government units and the public are reminded that entry into the 4-kilometer radius Permanent Danger Zone (PDZ) must be strictly prohibited and also in the two-kilometer Extended Danger Zone (EDZ)," Mendoza said.
He also said the public is advised to prepare for ash fall and high risk of lahar flow in case of heavy rains.
"Monitoring and meetings with concerned agencies are being conducted. The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) will preposition 1,000 family food packs for every identified municipality affected," he said.
The affected municipalities are within the southwest sector of Bulusan Volcano, mostly in the town of Irosin and partly in the municipalities of Juban, Casiguran and Bulusan town.
"Just in case the alert level will be escalated, there are 70 households from Barangay San Roque in Bulusan town that will be evacuated," he added.
In its advisory on Friday, Phivolcs said it recorded five volcanic earthquakes, 241 tonnes/day of sulfur dioxide, and 200 meters tall of plume or moderate emission in Bulusan for the past 24 hours.
Under Alert Level 1, people living within valleys and along river/stream channels, especially on the southeast, southwest, and northwest sectors of the edifice, are advised to be vigilant against sediment-laden stream flows and lahars in the event of heavy and prolonged rainfall should a phreatic eruption occur.
Aviation authorities are also advised to avoid flying close to the volcano’s summit as ash from a sudden phreatic eruption can be hazardous to aircraft. (PNA)
