Pinatubo residents urged to leave

Pinatubo residents urged to leave

MANILA (AFP): Philippine President Fidel Ramos yesterday called on thousands of residents in low-lying areas near Pinatubo volcano to leave, to escape the frequent mudflows and ease the pressure on rescue and relief efforts.

"We appeal to the people of Pampanga (province), especially those in the immediate path of the lahar (volcanic mudflow), to heed our advice and resettle instead of obstructing engineering and public works efforts," he said in a statement.

The volcano killed about a thousand people during a mammoth 1991 eruption, and kills dozens every year as tons of volcanic material deposited on nearby slopes thunder down nearby river channels during the annual rainy season.

Rescuers have charged that many of the 10,000 people trapped in Bacolor town, north of Manila, during an avalanche last month had left resettlement sites and returned to their homes against government advice.

The town of 70,000 people has been almost totally obliterated by the mudflows.