More Mayon evacuees return home as alert level is

LEGAZPI CITY — Some 8,000 evacuees will be sent home today after volcanologists further lowered yesterday the alert level around Mayon Volcano following the decline in its seismic activity.

Cedric Daep, chief of the Provincial Public Safety and Emergency Management Office, said the evacuees who will be sent home reside in Barangays Buyuan, Benga, Mabinit and Matanag, which are outside the six-kilometer radius permanent danger zone.

Daep said at least 9,000 people, who remain in evacuation centers across the province, will also be sent home as soon as the alert level is further reduced.

Yolanda Guazon, provincial social welfare officer, said they will continue to provide food assistance to evacuees in temporary shelters here and in Tabaco City, Malilipot, Daraga and Camalig.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) lowered the alert level from three to four after observing a gradual decline in the volcano’s overall activity in the past two weeks.

The institute also recalled the extended danger zone in the volcano’s southeast side.

Phivolcs, however, alerted residents near river channels and gullies on possible lahar flows during heavy downpours, and warned them against venturing into the danger zone because sudden steam-driven explosions may still occur. — With Celso Amo and Felix de los Santos