Posted on 06/25/2006 9:10:22 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
MANILA (AFP) - The Philippines have put civil defense personnel on alert for possible deadly volcanic mudflows as a tropical storm began bearing down on a volcano that has been spitting ash for weeks.
Just before she left for a visit to Europe, President Gloria Arroyo said the civil defense office had prepared contingency measures in case rain from the storm mixes with ash on the slopes of Bulusan volcano to form deadly mudflows.
Arroyo said two C-130 cargo planes, eight helicopters including the presidential helicopter and a train were ready to travel to the Bicol peninsula south of Manila to help people who might be displaced by any mudflow or volcanic eruption.
Arroyo said vulcanologists did not believe that the 1,565-meter (5,134-foot) Bulusan mountain was likely to erupt in the next few days but they should prepare for such contingencies.
There have been periodic ash emissions at Bulusan since March but these have become more frequent this month.
The Philippine vulcanology institute said it had detected four volcanic earthquakes in the past 24 hours. It warned that prolonged rainflow "might trigger life-threatening mudflows."
It reiterated that residents should stay at least four kilometers (2.5 miles) away from the crater and even areas outside this danger zone might be affected.
The government weather station said a tropical storm, locally named as "Domeng", was heading northwest towards Bicol at 19 kilometers (12 miles) per hour.
The eye of the storm, packing maximum winds of 90 kilometers (56 miles) per hour, passed Biliran island and was expected to pass beside the Bicol region on Monday morning. It was not expected to hit the region directly.
Sea travel in the area around the storm has been restricted, stranding over a thousand people at various ports, the civil defense office said. However there are no immediate reports of damage or casualties.
The second level of a four-step storm alert has been raised over parts of Bicol and the neighboring islands and provinces. A first-level storm alert has been raised in provinces just south of Manila.
A resident of Gulang-Gulang village in Sorsogon province runs away with a boy as Mount Bulusan explodes with a massive volcanic ash cloud, June 18. The Philippines put civil defense personnel on alert for possible deadly volcanic mudflows as a tropical storm began bearing down on the volcano that has been spitting ash for weeks.(AFP/File/Francis Malasig)
Damn, that just sucks on a biblical scale. Hope it doesn't rain frogs on them too.
Smoke rises from Mt. Bulusan in Sorsogon province, south of Manila June 12, 2006. The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOCS) said that Bulusan's activity had been increasing and more explosions and ash falls were likely in the coming days. REUTERS/Stringer (PHILIPPINES)
Art Bell, where are you?
Cool shot of Vanuatu lake Voui changing colors
He's a few hundred kilometers away..
Hopefully if enough rain falls it can put the volcano out;))
Space Shuttle photo STS067-725A-0085. March 12, 1995.
Bulusan is an active stratovolcano and makes the extreme southeast part island of Luzon peninsula (bottom right of photo). The summit crater is 1,000 feet (300 m) in diameter and there are numerous lava flows on the flanks. There are three craters on the southeast flank; the lower two are crater lakes. The islands of Masbate and Ticao are to the southwest (top of photo).
Bulusan has erupted at least 13 times since 1886, most recently in 1988.
That's a heck of a picture.
Will the Phils storm-volcano combo outdo Java's earthquake-volcano plus alqaida combo?
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