MANILA, Dec 20 (Reuters) - A volcano south of the Philippine capital spewed ash over wide areas on Wednesday after its 15th explosion this year, bringing a risk of mudslides. The country's top vulcanologist said Mount Bulusan, located around 400 km (250 miles) south of Manila, was not a violent volcano but warned that a big explosion was still possible after it belched ash over a 15 km (9 mile) area. "The most important thing is for the people not to venture into the 4-km (2.5-mile) radius permanent danger zone around the volcano," Renato Solidum, director of the government volcanology agency, said in a radio interview. "If there are heavy rains, residents should stay away from rivers around the volcano because the new deposits of ashfall may be swept by the waters and cause lahar (a volcanic debris flow)." Solidum later told Reuters the ash explosion was accompanied by rumbling sounds and lightning flashes. But he said the volcanology agency was not recommending evacuations and it was maintaining the lowest alert level, 1, over the mountain. Natural disasters are a constant threat in the Philippines, which sits on the Ring of Fire, a seismically active stretch of the Pacific Ocean. The country, which has 22 volcanoes, is also buffeted by typhoons from May to December. Over 1,000 people were feared killed in neighbouring Albay province last month after flash floods and high winds from Typhoon Durian poured tonnes of debris from Mount Mayon, the country's most active volcano, onto villages encircling it.
