The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) warned of increased volcanic activities after Mount Bulusan in Sorsogon erupted again at 7:43 p.m. on Tuesday, which lasted approximately 77 minutes as Alert Level 1 remained.
Alert Level 1, indicating ‘low level of unrest,’ does not warrant mandatory evacuation, according to Phivolcs. Local government units (LGUs), however, have the discretion to impose public safety protocols depending on the situation on the ground, especially during an ashfall event.
On Tuesday evening, some affected residents around Bulusan fled to safer locations while others remained inside their houses as a centimeter thick, sulfur-smelling ash from the rumbling volcano fell on their roofs, premises, vegetation, roads and everywhere.
Ashfall was reported in the villages of Cogon, Tinampo, Monbon, Bolos, Gulang-Gulang, Gabao, Bulawan, and Macawayan in Irosin; Guruyan in Juban; and in Zone 7, Somagongsong, Beguin, Aquino, San Francisco, Calomagon, Inararan, Cadandanan, Dolos and Polot in Bulan, Sorsogon.
“The eruption plume was obscured by clouds but likely drifted to the southwest based on the location of communities affected by ashfall,” Phivolcs said in its bulletin.
As of 12:00 a.m. on Wednesday, the state seismic agency recorded 66 volcanic earthquakes on Bulusan. Sulfur dioxide was measured at 548 tons per day with a 70-meter-high plume, falling west-southwest from the volcano.
LGUs and the public are reminded to strictly avoid entering the four-kilometer radius permanent danger zone and the two-kilometer extended danger zone on the southeast sector.
As of April 29, 2025, the Office of Civil Defense in Bicol reported that people affected by the ongoing Bulusan Volcano eruption already reached 19,881 families or equivalent to 92,945 individuals.
These are residents from the towns surrounding the volcano such as Barcelona, Bulan, Bulusan, Casiguran, Gubat, Irosin, Juban and Magallanes in Sorsogon.