Alert status raised to level two for Mount Bulusan
Manila housewife Gloria Gallego thinks that four volcanoes acting up at the same time is 'probably a sign that God is angry'. But Jaime Santos Sincioco, who has been watching volcanoes for 30 years, says the simultaneous rumblings are 'just a coincidence'.
Three months ago, Mount Bulusan, about 600km southeast of Manila, started rumbling. A fortnight ago, it began spewing out superheated ash in a plume that stretched 2km up into the sky.
Now more explosions - caused by water mixing with heated rocks - have occurred. The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology has raised its warning to alert level two around Mount Bulusan, indicating a hazardous eruption is likely.
At the same time, Mr Sincioco, the institute's supervising science research specialist, said alert level one status had been declared around three other volcanoes: Mayon in Albay province; Taal, about 70km south of Manila; and Kanlaon in the centre of Negros island in central Philippines. The first alert level indicates a volcano has become active.
'Volcanoes, even when near each other like Bulusan and Mayon, do not trigger the other to explode,' Mr Sincioco said, because each has its own system.
The Philippines is home to at least 330 known volcanoes. Mr Sincioco said the list might still grow as more areas are surveyed.
