• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
The municipal government of La Castellana in Negros Occidental is looking for more areas to accommodate its 37,000 residents should Mt. Kanlaon erupt again.
Mayor Alme Rhummyla Nicor-Mangilimutan said yesterday that they are looking at the cities of Silay and Talisay as well as Bacolod to shelter their evacuees.
The Office of Civil Defense (OCD) is putting up a tent city in Himamaylan City to accommodate the spillover of evacuees from La Castellana.
Earlier, the OCD identified 38 villages in La Castellana, Pontevedra, Moises Padilla towns, La Carlota and Bago cities in Negros Occidental, and Canlaon City in Negros Oriental to be at risk of pyroclastic flows.
The Task Force Kanlaon chaired by Raul Fernandez, who is also the OCD-6 regional director, will meet today with the local officials, who will present their respective contingency plans should Alert Level 4 be raised.
Fernandez said they want to assess the preparedness of each local government unit and identify the gaps where assistance is needed.
Mangilimutan said that La Castellana needs more vehicles to transport the evacuees.
“We have a memorandum of agreement with transport companies to help ferry the evacuees,” she said, including the Yanson Group of Bus Companies that operates the Ceres Liner and operators of mini-vans.
Negros Occidental Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz II said they are looking at the unoccupied Yolanda housing units to serve as relocation sites. | GB
