POLICE escorting Mayon Volcano evacuees in Albay. (FB)
LEGAZPI CITY – A total of 729 families or 2,889 individuals within the six-kilometer Permanent Danger Zone of Mayon Volcano will be evacuated, the Office of Civil Defense in Bicol (OCD-5) confirmed Tuesday.
In a phone interview, OCD-5 Director Claudio Yucot said the Albay Public Safety Emergency and Management Office (APSEMO) deployed Army trucks to assist in the evacuation within the day.
“Based on the report of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, it is an infusive magmatic eruption, meaning it’s not sudden. We don’t need to wait for the explosion. We need to evacuate them,” he said.
Yucot said the Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council’s response cluster will convene on Wednesday to coordinate support for the evacuees.
“The Department of Social Welfare and Development also committed to prepare food packs for the evacuees. Similarly, the provincial and municipal engineering offices of different local government units were also informed to prepare other evacuation centers for a possible rise in evacuees,” he said.
Based on APSEMO data, Tabaco City has 312 evacuating families or 1,181 individuals; Malilipot, 287 families or 1,193 individuals; Camalig, 100 families or 407 individuals; Ligao, 25 families or 91 individuals; Guinobatan, four families or 16 individuals; and Daraga, one individual.
Camalig Mayor Carlos Irwin Baldo Jr. said in a social media post that the safety of the people is their top priority.
“At 2 p.m., we implemented the immediate suspension of classes at Baligang Elementary School and Bariw Elementary School to prepare them as temporary evacuation centers for the affected residents of barangays Anoling, Sua, and Quirangay,” he said. (PNA)