• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Sixty-one families displaced by the Kanlaon Volcano eruption in La Carlota City, Negros Occidental are set to return home, according to the Department of Social Welfare and Development-Negros Island Region (DSWD-NIR).
Composed of 225 individuals, the internally displaced persons from Barangay Ara-al have been staying at the poblacion evacuation centers since the eruption in December last year.
More than 4,000 IDPs in La Castellana, Negros Occidental, and Canlaon City, Negros Oriental have returned to their respective residences last week after the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology downgraded the Kanlaon unrest status to Alert Level 2 on July 29.
However, there are still 61 families or 213 individuals, whose residences are located within the four-kilometer permanent danger zone, still occupying the evacuation centers in La Castellana.
As part of early recovery and rehabilitation efforts for IDPs, the Regional Incident Management Team (RIMT) conducted a site visit in Bago City and La Carlota City on Aug. 5.
Members of the RIMT went to Barangay Ilijan, Bago City to assess the condition of 22 damaged houses of IDPs, who are temporarily sheltered at the city’s permanent evacuation center.
In a statement, the DSWD-NIR said the Kanlaon eruption left roofs torn off and damaged power lines.
The visit underscored the urgent need for recovery support and highlighted the resilience of the affected community, it added.
The RIMT also joined the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council meeting in La Carlota City Hall, where discussions focused on preparations for the decampment of remaining displaced families from Barangay Ara-al.
Raul Fernandez, Task Force Kanlaon head, earlier said the National Task Force Kanlaon is now focusing on building permanent relocation sites for families, who were not allowed to return to their respective homes. | GB
