The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) reported Sunday, July 4, that over 1 million face masks and more than 8,000 family food packs have been delivered to the families affected by Taal Volcano’s magmatic unrest.
The DSWD said it delivered 1.048 million face masks to Laurel, Batangas, and Batangas City on July 1 after the Taal Volcano was placed under Alert Level 3.
The municipality of Laurel and Batangas City also received 500 tents on July 1.
An additional 500 modular tents were sent to Batangas Sports Complex on July 2.
“Moreover, as of July 2, the Department has dispatched 5,000 family food packs (FFPs) to Batangas Sports Complex, 1,500 FFPs to Agoncillo, and 2,000 FFPs for Laurel,” the DSWD said.
The social welfare agency vowed to continue coordinating with the local government units (LGUs) “to monitor the situation and to assess how the affected residents can be better assisted.”
In a Facebook post on Saturday, July 3, the DSWD Region IV-A said a total of 867 families or 3,298 individuals have so far been affected by Taal Volcano’s restiveness.
Of the number, 416 families or 1,712 individuals are currently staying in 16 evacuation centers in the municipalities of Agoncillo, Balete, Laurel, and Nasugbu , Batangas, it said.
Related story: https://mb.com.ph/2021/07/03/dswd-867-families-displaced-by-taal-volcanos-magmatic-unrest/
DSWD Secretary Secretary Rolando Joselito D. Bautista personally visited on Friday, July 2, some evacuation centers in Batangas province to personally check on the situation of the evacuee-families.
Related stories: https://mb.com.ph/2021/07/03/dswd-chief-visits-evacuation-centers-in-batangas/
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) raised Taal Volcano’s status from Alert Level 2 to Alert Level 3 on Thursday, July 1, at 3:37 p.m. after a short-lived phreatomagmatic eruption at the main crater occurred at 3:16 p.m.
Phreatomagmatic eruption is caused by magma coming into contact with groundwater.
