LEGAZPI CITY (PIA) — Evacuation of families living in the immediate vicinity of Mayon Volcano has started due to the potential for a hazardous eruption within days or weeks, according to the Albay Provincial Information Office (PIO).
On Tuesday afternoon, Tabaco City Mayor Rey Bragais announced that 156 families from five villages within Mayon’s 6-kilometer permanent danger zone (PDZ) were relocated to safer shelters.
In the town of Camalig, the local disaster management team simultaneously directed an evacuation effort that transported 163 families from the villages of Sua, Quirangay, and Anoling to evacuation centers in neighboring areas, according to Mayor Carlos Irwin Baldo Jr.
Albay Governor Noel Rosal issued a mandatory evacuation order for hundreds of homes after the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) raised the Alert Level to 3 on Tuesday.
The order covers parts of Tabaco and Ligao cities, as well as the towns of Camalig, Malilipot, Guinobatan, and Daraga. These communities are located within the 6-km PDZ.
Residents in nearby neighborhoods, situated 7 to 8 kilometers from the base of Mayon, have been feeling uneasy since the announcement.
Local emergency officials stated in Facebook posts on Tuesday that the preemptive evacuation aims to ensure there is zero casualty should an explosive eruption occur.
In a bulletin issued Tuesday, state volcanologists said superheated gas and volcanic debris started forming that day from the newly flowing lava’s collapse, lasting about three minutes and traveling within two kilometers of the crater.
Phivolcs said this means that there may be an explosive eruption in the coming days or weeks.
“It is therefore recommended that (people living inside) the 6-km radius PDZ be evacuated due to the danger of PDC, lava flows, rockfalls, and other volcanic hazards,” the agency said.
According to the PIO, the Albay Public Safety and Emergency Management Office (APSEMO) anticipates that the evacuations will impact about 729 homes or more than 2,000 individuals.
APSEMO, along with the city and municipal governments of the affected areas, is coordinating the evacuation efforts.
Emergency officials said that local governments have arranged everything from evacuation logistics to food supplies for the evacuees.
Jess Mantes, a trader living near Mayon, said that he would comply if asked to leave his home and shop.
He said he trusts the government will take care of his family while they stay at the evacuation center.
Source: PIA Bicol