Ash fall recorded in Sorsogon as Mt. Bulusan erupts
Residents in Sorsogon province were told to prepare for possible evacuation by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) as a phreatic eruption occurred at Mt. Bulusan on Sunday morning, June 5.
NDRRMC Spokesperson Mark Timbal told reporters that there was a reported ash fall incident in Brgy. Cogon, Irosin, Sorsogon following Mt. Bulusan’s steam-blast explosion at 10:37 a.m.
Timbal said the municipal disaster risk reduction and management office (MDRRMO) of Irosin has prepared evacuation plans.
Fritzie Michelena, head of the MDRRMO Irosin, confirmed that at least four barangays were affected by ash fall in their municipality. These are Barangays Cogon, Bolos, Gulang-Gulang, and Tinampo.
“These barangays are not located in the center of the municipality so there is no need yet for an evacuation as of the latest assessment,” Michelena said.
Around 800 families were affected by the ash fall in the said barangays.
“We advise the residents to stay inside their homes and prepare for possible evacuation in case there is a need for such. Close your windows and listen to the barangay officials,” she added.
Aside from Irosin, the municipalities of Juban and Casiguran were also affected by ash fall according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs).
Pierre Dellosa, assistant department head of the provincial disaster risk reduction and management office (PDRRMO) of Sorsogon, said an emergency meeting was called immediately after the volcanic eruption to assess the next possible course of action.
“We have contacted all the MDRRMOs in the areas that are possibly affected by the phreatic explosion. We told them to advise the affected barangays to prepare for evacuation in case the situation worsens,” Dellosa said.
He said Alert Level 1 was raised over Mt. Bulusan which means that it is now in an “abnormal condition.”
According to Phivolcs, local government units and the public are strictly prohibited from entering the four-kilometer permanent danger zone around Mt. Bulusan under Alert Level 1.
Meanwhile, residents around the extended two-km extended danger zone on the southeast sector of the volcano were told to exercise vigilance and extra precaution due to the possibility of sudden and hazardous phreatic explosions.