Hundreds of residents in critical villages near Mt. Kanlaon in Canlaon City, Negros Oriental have been evacuated, as the volcano continues to pose an imminent threat with its increased seismic activity.
Edna Lhou Masicampo, Canlaon City information officer-designate, said that as of Wednesday morning, 92 families, totaling 301 individuals, are now at evacuation centers with some of them staying with relatives.
The evacuees are from Barangay Masulog, Barangay Pula, Barangay Malaiba, and Barangay Lumapao, all situated in the 4-kilometer radius permanent danger zone of Mt. Kanlaon.
Masicampo said the local government unit of Canlaon has provided food packs, kitchen kits, hygiene kits, sleeping kits, family kits, water and face masks since the mandatory evacuation started Tuesday afternoon.
Meanwhile, Canlaon City Mayor Jose Chubasco Cardenas has ordered the suspension of classes at all levels in both public and private schools for an indefinite period due to the tectonic-volcanic earthquakes and excessive sulfur dioxide emissions at Mt. Kanlaon.
The cancellation of classes was earlier limited only to the four critical barangays.
The latest 24-hour report from the Philippine Institute of Volcanology & Seismology said 337 volcanic earthquakes have been recorded at Mt. Kanlaon since midnight of Sept. 11.
The volcano emitted 9,985 tons of sulfur dioxide flux on Tuesday, while a 1,000-meter steam plume was noted with a southeast drift
Ground deformation was also observed.
The Phivolcs is reminding the public that possible hazards that can occur at the restive Mt. Kanlaon include sudden steam-driven or phreatic eruptions.
The Department of Social Welfare & Development Field Office 7 (Central Visayas), on the other hand, has assured the LGUs in Negros Oriental that it has enough relief supplies to augment the LGUs’ resources for any possible effects of Mt. Kanlaon’s volcanic activities.
The DSWD had been on high alert after the Phivolcs warned of an “eruptive unrest and an increase in the alert level” due to the seismic activity of Mt. Kanlaon.
“As instructed by Social Work Sec. Rex Gatchalian, the DSWD is on high gear as our regional offices prepare for the worst, amid the volcanic unrest of Mt. Kanlaon,” Assistant Secretary for Disaster Response Management Irene Dumlao said on Thursday.
“We, at the DSWD, assure the Governor, District Representatives, and town and city mayors that we will provide the needed support — both food and non-food items — and even personnel of the FO-7,” DSWD Central Visayas Regional Director Shalaine Marie Lucero said in a separate statement.
Lucero said the FO-7 has a stockpile of 6,800 boxes of FFPs, 255 kitchen kits, 224 family kits, 161 hygiene kits, 233 sleeping kits, one camp management kit, women-friendly space kit, and child- friendly kit prepositioned in Canlaon City.
The Field Office also prepositioned 3,400 FFPs in the nearby municipality of Vallehermoso, Negros Oriental.
“A total of 14,385 boxes of FFPs in Dumaguete City are also available for augmentation to LGUs as the need arises,” Lucero said.
The DSWD FO-7 has requested additional 3,000 NFIs from the agency’s National Resource Operations Center in Pasay City to be prepositioned in Guihulngan City, Negros Oriental. (Judy F. Partlow with PNA report)
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Photo Caption: ALERT LEVEL 2. Mt. Kanlaon continues to exhibit increased unrest in this photo taken on Sept. 10, accompanied by unprecedented levels of sulfur dioxide degassing, and volcano tectonic earthquakes, putting the Canlaon City government on a 24/7 alert. (Phivolcs photo)
