Philippine volcano showers 11 villages with ash*

MANILA, Philippines, May 12 (AFP) May 12, 2007

The unstable Bulusan volcano in the eastern Philippines spewed a column
of ash into the air Saturday, showering 11 villages with ash, government
scientists said.

Bulusan shot a four-kilometre (2.5-mile) plume of ash into the air,
scattering particles for some six kilometres around the the 1,565-metre
(5,133-feet) tall volcano, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and
Seismology (Phivolcs) said in a statement.

"Three days prior to the ash explosion, an increase in the daily number
of volcanic earthquakes and moderate to voluminous smoke were noticed,"
Phivolcs said.

There were no reports of casualties or damage and no order for residents
to evacuate, civil defence officials said.

Phivolcs warned villagers to stay out of a four-kilometre "permanent
danger zone" around the volcano since the area was still at risk from
sudden ash explosions.

Despite the ash explosion, Bulusan is still not yet in a dangerous state
but the residents should be on alert for "life threatening volcanic flows."

Periodic ash emissions from Bulusan volcano have been recorded since
October 2006. The volcano, located in Sorsogon province, 250 kilometres
southeast of Manila, has erupted at least 15 times since 1886, most
recently in 1995.