• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Local governments surrounding Kanlaon volcano have been given until Monday, December 16, by the Office of the Civil Defense Western Visayas, to conduct the forced evacuations of the remaining families inside the 6-kilometer expanded permanent danger zone.
As of 10 a.m. Sunday, the OCD Western Visayas reported that 81 percent of all residents at the Kanlaon volcano 6-kilometer Permanent Danger Zone (PDZ) in Negros Island have already been evacuated.
That 81 percent of Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) is composed of 4,881 families, comprising 16,268 individuals, staying in 28 evacuation centers in Negros Island.
These include 2,825 families or 9,328 persons in La Castellana; 721 families or 2,589 persons in La Carlota City; and 92 families or 310 persons in Bago City.
In Negros Oriental, 1,243 families or 4,041 persons have sought shelter in evacuation centers.
In a memorandum issued by the Regional Task Force Kanlaon, chaired by OCD Western Visayas head Raul Fernandez, the order issued to local governments of La Castellana, and cities of Bago, La Carlota, and San Carlos City in Negros Occidental, and Canlaon City, Negros Oriental, are aimed at ensuring the safety and protection of families, given the ongoing Kanlaon volcano activity, in anticipation for any possible re-eruption or worst case scenario, Fernandez said.
Alert Level 3 (intensified unrest/magmatic unrest) remains hoisted over Kanlaon volcano, as of yesterday.
In the past 24 hours, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology logged 14 volcanic quakes, and reported the emission of 3,620 tons of sulfur dioxide (SO2), with plumes as high as 50 meters which drifted west and southwest.
In La Castellana town, the police has established checkpoints along the main road of the 6KM expanded danger zone, where the evacuation of livestock into the town poblacion is ongoing.
Task Force Kanlaon allows essential activities of internally displaced persons inside the extended 6-kilometer PDZ, only from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m.
As of December 14, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), local government units and non-government organizations have distributed P14.792 million worth of humanitarian aid, including family food packs, hygiene kits and sleeping kits, provided to the affected families in La Castellana, La Carlota City, and Bago City.
On the other hand, Vice Mayor Ian Villaflor reported mud flow at the Intiguiwan River in Moises Padilla, Negros Occidental, which he believes originated from volcano ash deposits.
With a potential low pressure area expected in the coming weeks, Phivolcs warns of the increased risk of ashfall turning into lahar.
It also issued a map which highlights areas likely to be affected by the lahar flow from the estimated three million metric tons of ash deposits from the Dec. 9 eruption of Kanlaon volcano, which is three times greater than the one million metric tons of ash deposits recorded during the previous eruption on June 3.*
