A VOLCANO approximately 600km southeast of the Philippine capital spewed ash before dawn today, a week after a phreatic eruption that prompted authorities to raise the alert level to 1 and evacuate residents to safety. 

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said it detected a phreatic explosion again in Bulusan volcano in Sorsogon province at 3.37am local time today, reported Xinhua. 

“The event lasted 18 minutes based on the seismic record, but the eruption plume was not visible in camera monitors,” the institute said. 

On June 5, authorities evacuated more than 200 residents near the volcano after spilling a grey plume about 1km high into the sky. The phreatic eruption lasted approximately 17 minutes and ashfall was reported in towns near the volcano. 

The volcano remains on alert level 1 on a scale of 5, meaning that the volcano is still in an “abnormal condition”. The institute urged people to stay away from the 4km “permanent danger zone”. 

The institute also advised pilots to avoid flying close to the volcano’s summit as ash from any sudden phreatic eruption can be hazardous to aircraft. 

Bulusan volcano is one of the Philippines’ most active volcanoes. In January 2018, the volcano spewed ash about 2.5km high into the sky. – Bernama, June 12, 2022.