Volatile volcano spews ash for third day in eastern Philippines
Pastor Dale Morgan
Volatile volcano spews ash for third day in eastern Philippines*
MANILA, Oct 12 (AFP) Oct 12, 2006
Volatile Mount Bulusan volcano in the eastern Philippines spewed ash for
a third day Thursday, covering at least a dozen villages, scientists said.
After five months of calm, Bulusan -- located in Sorsogon Province, 405
kilometres (250 miles) southeast of Manila -- began blasting thick
columns of ash into the air on Tuesday.
"Bulusan's alert level one remains in effect," the Philippine Institute
of Volcanology and Seismology (Philvolcs) said in a statement.
Local media reports said up to a dozen villages to the southwest of the
volcano were covered by a thin film of ash.
Although still at the lowest alert level, Philvolcs said a
four-kilometre danger zone was in place around the 1,565-metre
(5,133-feet) volcano.
"Areas near the danger zone and especially near river channels should be
considered risky because these areas are susceptible to potentially
life-threatening mudflows," the institute warned.
Scientists are closely monitoring Bulusan's volcanic activity but see no
reason to raise the alert level, which ranges from one to five.
Bulusan has erupted at least 15 times since 1886, most recently in 1995.