Philippine volcano hits homes

2006-06-09 08:25

Manila - Volcanic ash from Bulusan in the Philippines damaged a number of houses in villages surrounding the mountain but residents were unharmed and staying put, emergency workers said on Friday.

The government declared the town of Casiguran, on the slope of the 1 565-metre mountain, a "calamity" area after ash from the volcano rained down on roofs on Wednesday, the civil defence office said.

The exact number of houses damaged in the disaster zone, on the southern tip of the main island of Luzon, was not disclosed.

There were no immediate plans to evacuate residents living around the volcano, it added.

Bulusan calmed down overnight on Thursday with only steam plumes emerging from the crater, the official Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said.

But the institute said the volcano remained in an abnormal state and warned residents to stay at least four kilometres away from the crater.

"Phivolcs expects more explosions to occur" due to the rise of steam heated by magma beneath the mountain. It said "there is a possibility of life-threatening volcanic flows."

Bulusan has had 15 recorded eruptions, the latest in November 1994.

Twenty-two volcanoes are considered active in the Philippines, part of the so-called "Pacific ring of fire" made up of islands created by volcanic activity on the Western Pacific.

- AFP