Mayon evacuation underway

LEGAZPI CITY , Philippines  – Disaster mitigation officials here have started evacuating close to 10,000 families residing within a radius of six to eight kilometers from the crater of Mayon Volcano after it spewed lava which flowed half a kilometer downslope.

Nearly 50,000 people live within eight kilometers of the volcano and Albay Gov. Joey Salceda said he is targeting zero casualties.

Salceda said he decided to cancel a trip to Copenhagen, where he was to attend a UN climate conference to discuss his province’s experience with typhoons and natural disasters.

He said he would appeal for foreign aid to deal with the expected influx of displaced villagers to evacuation centers.

“It’s 10 days before Christmas. Most likely people will be in evacuation centers, and if Mayon’s activity won’t ease we will not allow them to return to their homes,” said provincial emergency management official Jake Nuñez.

Cedric Daep, chief of the Albay Public Safety and Emergency Management Office (Apsemo), said aside from the 2,728 families that were moved to evacuation centers in Daraga and Camalig towns, at least 7,218 families from surrounding areas were already being relocated to evacuation centers, including public schools within Albay.

July Sabit, Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) monitoring division chief, said alert level 3 would remain hoisted over Mayon while lava flow remains confined within gullies and not yet beyond the seven-kilometer extended danger zone facing Legazpi City and Daraga town.

Phivolcs’ latest bulletin reported incandescent lava fragments were continuously detaching from Mayon’s crater and have rested on the upper and middle slopes about three kilometers from summit.

“For as long as lava flow is not accompanied by violent eruption and remains confined within the channels and not flowing beyond the permanent danger zones, alert level 4 would not be declared,” Sabit told The STAR.

He also dismissed reports that fresh lava flow had already reached as far as five kilometers from the crater, adding that the observed incandescent materials were old lava fragments, or trickles pushed to the volcano surface by fresh magma.

Daep, on the other hand, said that government vehicles, mostly trucks from the Philippine Army, have already been dispatched, and some of them had already started loading evacuees from designated pickup points located in village centers.

Repacking of assorted relief items would start and these will be distributed starting last night, particularly to those evacuees within the permanent danger zones in Daraga and Camalig towns.

The evacuees came from 20 barangays within the six-kilometer permanent danger zone (PDZ), and 25 villages from the six-to-eight kilometer PDZ.

The other affected barangays are from Guinobatan and Ligao City in the first district; and Sto. Domingo, Bacacay, Malilipot and Tabaco City, all in Albay.

Once alert level 4 is hoisted, an additional 16,200 families or 72,800 people coming from 26 barangays within the eight-to-10 km. distance from the crater will be evacuated to at least 37 evacuation sites, mostly inside public schools here.

Eruption imminent

Phivolcs raised the alert level on Monday after recording a series of ash explosions from 10:38 a.m. to 1:02 p.m., indicating that an eruption is imminent.

A series of ash explosions, which propelled incandescent fragments from the summit down three kilometers on the volcano slopes, has changed the outlook of Mayon.

The green upper slopes of the mountain are now covered with hue from super hot lava fragments detaching from the rim of the crater, triggering a faint column as it rolls down and rests on the volcano’s middle slopes.

Phivolcs director Renato Solidum said Mayon might soon have dangerous explosions.

Governor Salceda ordered the mandatory evacuation as early as 8 p.m. Monday for high-risk households inside the danger zones due to sudden explosions that may generate hazardous volcanic flows.

As part of the evacuation procedure, the joint AFP-PNP Task Force Mayon under Col. Marlou Salazar of the 901st Brigade was also ordered to ferry household members in the affected barangays to designated evacuation centers as well as enforce checkpoints at strategic areas to ensure that nobody enters the danger zone.

Classes were suspended in schools within the 8-km. radius of the volcano because classrooms are being used as evacuation centers.

School authorities were also advised to devise a scheduling activity to enable pupils who are evacuees to hold classes within the premises of the evacuation center.

“The goal is to minimize the disruption of classes considering that the evacuation period for Mayon based on past eruptions lasts between 42 to 87 days,” said Daep during the emergency meeting.

“All Provincial Disaster Coordinating Council (PDCC) member agencies are also ordered to execute their respective contingency plans as well as assist those members of the household who were evacuated,” he said.

PDCC was also going to secure a declaration of a state of imminent calamity from the Sangguniang Panlalawigan to enable the local government units to use their calamity funds for the implementation of evacuation procedures as well as other requirements of the thousands of evacuees.

GMA taps NDCC

Meanwhile, President Arroyo has ordered the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) to take the necessary steps to ensure protection of all residents in Albay that may be affected by the imminent eruption of Mayon.

Press Secretary Cerge Remonde said that the President directed acting Defense Secretary Norberto Gonzales to immediately attend to the needs of the province now that the volcano has become very active and could erupt any time.

Remonde said the NDCC would be coordinating with the PDCC of Albay, which he cited for doing a good job in addressing the impending natural calamity.

He pointed out that the PDCC of Albay has been one of the most active in disaster risk management after being hit by one typhoon after another over the year.

“So we are very confident that our local PDCC can manage this problem very well,” Remonde said.

He said Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Esperanza Cabral has also been ordered to prepare the necessary relief assistance for the province of Albay.

Remonde said that the DSWD was also tasked to determine if the goods should be forwarded to the province before the volcano erupts.

“Let’s all pray that this is the extent of the rumblings of Mount Mayon,” Remonde said. – Helen Flores, James Mananghaya, Celso Amo, Marvin Sy, AP