Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 13) — Mayors of affected towns in Albay said Tuesday thousands more residents will be evacuated if the danger zone around Mayon Volcano is extended amid its unrest.
Over 14,000 Filipinos have been displaced as the country’s most active volcano spews lava, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) reported. The evacuees fled the 6-kilometer permanent danger zone.
On Monday the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council issued an advisory urging all residents within the 7-kilometer extended danger zone (EDZ) of Mayon to ready themselves for evacuation anytime if the situation worsens.
Provincial officials said up to 25,000 residents would need to evacuate if the danger zone is extended to 7 kilometers.
Camalig town Mayor Carlos Irwin Baldo told CNN Philippines’ The Source that on top of around 1,000 families or 5,000 residents of the municipality who already evacuated, another 2,000 households will be affected if the danger zone is expanded to 7 kilometers.
He said they have the greatest number of affected residents since their area is nearest to the volcano.
On the other hand, Guinobatan Mayor Paul Garcia said more than 3,000 families within the 6- and 7-kilometer danger zone are affected by the volcano’s activity.
So far, around 820 families, or more than 2,000 people, from the 6-kilometer danger zone are already staying in evacuation centers, he noted.
For Santo Domingo, Mayor Joseling Aguas Jr. said almost all residents in the 6- and 7-kilometer area have already evacuated. More than 50 families, or over 2,000 people, are staying in evacuation centers, he noted.
Mayon is still under Alert Level 3 due to its “magmatic unrest,” according to the latest 24-hour observation of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs).
In its bulletin for Mayon on Tuesday, Phivolcs said it recorded one volcanic quake, 221 rockfall events, and one pyroclastic density current event.
Mayon’s emission of sulfur dioxide also reached 723 tons, it added. Exposure to high levels of the gas could be life threatening, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The local chief executives said they are doing their best to provide what they can to residents staying in evacuation centers, like food packs, and hygiene kits.
“Ang pinaka kailangan din po kasi, una kulang po talaga sa CR (comfort room) kaya kailangan po ng mga portal,” Baldo noted.
[Translation: What is greatly needed is comfort room that is why we need portals.]
He said the Department of Health and the Office of Civil Defense have committed to assist in this matter. If the need arises, he said they will request for additional portals.
Garcia said comfort room as well as water supply are a problem in their evacuation centers in Guinobatan. Food packs, meanwhile, are enough with 70,000 in stock that may last for three weeks, he noted.
In Santo Domingo, Aguas said their supplies are also enough for now.
