Following the May 13 eruption of Mount Kanlaon, personnel of the Department of Social Welfare and Development in Western Visayas immediately visited the evacuation centers in the Negros Island Region (NIR) to check on the condition of the evacuees.
“Immediate response, in any type of disaster or emergencies, is crucial. This is even more needed by our Mt. Kanlaon evacuees, who have been displaced for almost five months now,” assistant secretary Irene Dumlao of the DSWD’s Disaster Response Management Group (DRMG) said in a statement.
“We have to assure them that we are looking after their needs,” Dumlao said, adding that ahead of the latest eruption, the DSWD had over 267,000 boxes of family food packs (FFPs) and P98 million worth of other food and non-food items (FNFIs) prepositioned in its field offices (FOs) in Western and Central Visayas.
“These two FOs still provide the relief aid needed for disaster operations in Negros Island Region. We are making sure that our resources are already there and can be tapped any time of the day in case the restiveness of Mt. Kanlaon escalates and requires bigger request for relief augmentation,” Dumlao said.
The DSWD6, through its Disaster Response Management Division (DRMD), also said it remains in constant coordination with affected local government units (LGUs) to monitor the situation and assess the needs of internally-displaced persons (IDPs).
DSWD6 director Arwin Razo said it already directed the DRMD to ensure the readiness of relief supplies.
A total of 81,624 FFPs are currently on standby in its Bacolod warehouse and various prepositioned sites across Negros Occidental, ready for immediate deployment, the agency added.
Days before the eruption, the Disaster Response Management Bureau (DRMB) had completed a technical assistance training on the operation, management, and maintenance of the agency’s mobile kitchen, water tanker, and water treatment facilities.
The training was attended by quick response teams (QRTs) from DSWD6 and the NIR, Regional Incidental Management Team, including the La Castellana and La Carlota LGUs that are most severely impacted by the ongoing volcanic unrest and currently managing evacuation centers sheltering IDPs.
The training ensures that disaster response frontliners are well-equipped and capacitated on the use of the logistical units, designed to provide immediate access to hot and nutritious meals and potable water supply for the IDPs, the DSWD said.
Alert Level 3, or magmatic unrest, prevails over Mount Kanlaon since its explosive eruption on Dec. 9 last year.
Phivolcs has warned of possible life-threatening hazards and urged residents within the six-kilometer danger zone to stay evacuated and prepare, in case the unrest further escalates.
Precautions against ashfall and sulfuric smell are strongly advised, including the use of protective masks or wet cloth to prevent ash inhalation, particularly for vulnerable groups, such as the elderly, individuals with respiratory conditions, pregnant women, and infants. ||
