Families living near Mt Bulusan evacuated

Manila: Authorities ordered the forced evacuation of families living at the foot of Mount Bulusan yesterday, after the volcano showed signs of renewed activity for the third straight day.

Bulusan Mayor Juan Gusayko was quoted by dzRH radio as saying that at least 16 families were evacuated as ash spewed by the Central Philippine volcano blanketed at least six villages in Irosin town and five others in Bulusan town in Sorsogon province.

"Some of those evacuated were already suffering from upper respiratory problems while others had just given birth," Gusayko said in the radio interview aired by dzRH.

Gusayko said the ash thrown by the volcano had drifted to the villages of San Roque, San Rafael, San Francisco and San Jose, in Bulusan town. He added the ash fall had also reached the villages of Patag and Mapaso in Irosin.

He said he had given instructions to local health authorities to monitor the quality of water in the area to make sure it is not contaminated by ash.

"The evacuated residents have been temporarily sheltered at the municipal building," he said.

Yesterday's evacuation was the second time in the last three days that a temporary forced relocation had been ordered by the authorities.

Mt Bulusan became active on Tuesday by throwing columns of ash. The 1,560-metre volcano had lapsed into silence in June.

Despite the seeming spike in Mt Bulusan's activity, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said they had not raised the volcano eruption alert level.

"Alert level 1 remains in effect," Phivolcs said in a bulletin last afternoon. "Phivolcs reminds the public not to enter inside the four kilometre Permanent Danger Zone (PDZ) because sudden hazardous explosions are likely to affect this area. Furthermore, areas beyond but near the PDZ especially near river channels should be considered risky because these areas are susceptible to potentially life-threatening mudflows or lahars," the bulletin said.

Schoolchildren had been unable to attend classes for the past three days since the start of the resurgent volcanic activity.