Philippine volcano showers 11 villages with ash

MANILA: The unstable Bulusan volcano in the eastern Philippines spewed a column of ash into the air on Saturday, showering 11 villages with ash, government scientists said.

Bulusan shot a four-kilometre plume of ash into the air, scattering particles for some six kilometres around the the 1,565-metre tall volcano, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said in a statement.

"Three days prior to the ash explosion, an increase in the daily number of volcanic earthquakes and moderate to voluminous smoke were noticed," Phivolcs said.

There were no reports of casualties or damage and no order for residents to evacuate, civil defence officials said.

Phivolcs warned villagers to stay out of a four-kilometre 'permanent danger zone' around the volcano since the area was still at risk from sudden ash explosions.

Despite the ash explosion, Bulusan is still not yet in a dangerous state but the residents should be on alert for 'life threatening volcanic flows.'

Periodic ash emissions from Bulusan volcano have been recorded since October 2006. The volcano, located in Sorsogon province, 250 kilometres southeast of Manila, has erupted at least 15 times since 1886, most recently in 1995.