MANILA – Close to 800 families, composed of about 4,000 individuals, were evacuated from a town in Albay province in the Bicol Region following warnings from government volcanologists that Mayon Volcano is again acting up by spewing ash and causing earthquakes.
Disaster management officials reported the evacuees came from two “barangays†(villages) in the town of Daraga, Albay, who are living within the six-kilometer danger zone of the volcano as established by the Philippine Institute of Volcanology (Phivolcs).
Mount Mayon, described as the volcano with the world’s most perfect cone, spewed ash as high as one kilometer into the air at least thrice on Wednesday, said Dr. Renato Solidum, the Phivolcs director, citing reports from resident volcanologists assigned to the area.
Solidum disclosed the explosion was accompanied by seven volcanic earthquakes, most of which were not felt by the residents living at the foot of the volcano.
He added that sulfur dioxide emission rate was measured at 510 tons per day, which is above the baseline data of 500 tons per day.
However, Solidum said that at this time, they are not inclined to raise the volcano warning from the present Alert 2 to Alert 3.
Officials said that at Alert 3, about 26,000 families would be affected over the country’s most active volcano whose last eruption was in 2006.
This developed as officials said the evacuation of the residents living within the danger zone is part of the “preemptive†or forced evacuation of people threatened by natural disasters, like floods, landslides and volcanic eruptions.
Albay has been held by disaster management experts as as an example for other provinces to emulate because it has put in place precautionary measures to cope with natural or man-made disasters.
For instance, Albay Governor Joey Salceda disclosed that unlike in the past, no evacuees would be allowed to seek refuge in public schools and similar buildings in case the volcano erupts
Instead, Salceda said the affected residents would be evacuated to a four-storey building built with the assistance of the Spanish government in Daraga.
“Due to this, classes will no longer be disrupted since no schools in Daraga will be utilized as evacuation centers,†Salceda pointed out.
He also assured that the Daraga center was built with facilities to ensure the health of the evacuees as well as their safety and security.
As part of the preemptive policy, Salceda stressed that no evacuee would also be allowed to return home as long as the warning signals of an imminent volcano eruption are in effect.
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