Around 170 people fled several villages at the base of the 1,565-metre (5,135-foot) Mount Bulusan volcano, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said in Manila.

They are being temporarily housed and fed at the mayor's office in Irosin town and at a school in nearby Casiguran, it added.

Soldiers and police will also be posted to enforce a six kilometre (3.7 miles) exclusion zone around the crater and trucks are on standby to take evacuees to government-run shelters, the local Philippine Army command said.

Bulusan showered nearby communities with ash on Tuesday following explosions and loud booms, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said in an advisory, adding that it expects more activity to come.

"Civic aviation authorities must advise pilots to avoid flying close to the volcano's summit as ejected ash and volcanic fragments from sudden explosions may pose hazard to aircraft," it said.

Bulusan, 250 kilometres (160 miles) southeast of the capital Manila on the main island of Luzon, is one of the country's 23 active volcanoes.

People living near streams and valleys in the area were warned that mudflows of volcanic ash could be triggered by heavy rainfall.

The local government said a quarter million people live in six towns around the volcano, and many of them could be at risk if the mild eruption increases in intensity.

Bulusan has erupted 16 times in recorded history, the last time in 2006. It began emitting ash again from November 6.

The Philippines is part of the Pacific Ring of Fire where frequent volcanic eruptions and earthquakes take place.

earlier related report
Flight warning as Philippine volcano spews ash
Manila (AFP) Nov 10, 2010 - Philippine authorities on Wednesday issued aviation alerts and warned nearby residents of possible mudflows as a restive volcano ejected more ash.

Booming sounds accompanied two ash explosions from the 1,565-metre (5,135-foot) Bulusan volcano on Tuesday, showering nearby communities with grey ash, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said in an advisory.

"Civic aviation authorities must advise pilots to avoid flying close to the volcano's summit as ejected ash and volcanic fragments from sudden explosions may pose hazard to aircraft," it added.

Bulusan, 250 kilometres (160 miles) southeast of the capital Manila on the main island of Luzon, is one of the country's 23 active volcanoes.

People living near streams and valleys in the area were warned that mudflows of volcanic ash could be triggered by heavy rainfall.

The government has not ordered any evacuation, but said up to 75,000 people from the nearby towns of Irosin and Juban could be at risk if the currently mild eruption increases.

Bulusan has erupted 16 times in recorded history, the last time in 2006. It began emitting ash again from November 6.

The Philippines is part of the Pacific Ring of Fire where frequent volcanic eruptions and earthquakes take place.

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