• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Local government units (LGUs) surrounding Mt. Kanlaon and concerned government agencies are bracing for possible “magmatic eruption” as reported by the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs), with the continuing restiveness of the volcano.
As of Thursday (Sept. 12), a total of 145 families, composed of 423 individuals have been evacuated in barangays of Pula, Masulog, Malaiba and Lumapao in Canlaon City, Negros Oriental.
While some families have opted to return home after signing waivers, Mayor Jose Chubasco Cardenas stressed the importance of the mandatory evacuation and provided those individuals with comprehensive information about the risks involved.
Cardenas also ordered the implementation of a curfew, from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m., including those staying at the evacuation centers, a liquor ban, and the mandatory wearing of face masks.
In its advisory on Thursday, Phivolcs said that Mt. Kanlaon logged 79 volcanic quakes within a 24-hour period, and reported that the volcano spewed 11,556 tons per day of sulfur dioxide, the highest emission of SO2 it has recorded since instrumental gas monitoring started.
Alert Level 2 still prevails at Mt. Kanlaon, according to Engr. Mari Andylene Quintia, resident volcanologist of the Kanlaon Volcano Observatory in La Carlota City, Negros Occidental.
Quintia said that if the parameters being monitored will escalate, it could lead to an eruption.
At the same, there should be no human activity within the four-kilometer radius permanent danger zone (PDZ), which may extend to six kilometers, if Alert Level 3 will be declared.
Classes are still suspended in La Castellana, Negros Occidental, and Canlaon City, Negros Oriental, which have villages located the foot of the restive volcano.
La Castellana Mayor Alme Rhummyla Nicor-Mangilimutan said on Thursday that she already activated the Incident Management Team as the LGU prepared the evacuation centers to accommodate displaced families, and sought assistance from the Department of Social Welfare and Development and the provincial government of Negros Occidental.
Mangilimutan also deployed Bantay Bukid members to ensure that there will be no entry to the four-kilometer radius PDZ.
She urged her constituents to remain calm and to desist from posting fake news on social media.
The DSWD-Western Visayas prepositioned 32,990 boxes of family food packs in Bacolod City, and in the different warehouses throughout Negros Occidental, on top of non-food items such as hygiene, family, cooking and sleeping kits, and modular tents.
In Negros Oriental, about 14,000 family food packs are also stored at the Dumaguete City warehouse, with 3,400 more boxes in the agency’s storage facility in Vallehermoso town.
“We are prepared to immediately respond to the needs of affected families due to the recent observed unrest of Mt. Kanlaon, DSWD-Western Visayas Regional Director Carmelo Nochete said.
The Office of the Protected Area Superintendent of Mt. Kanlaon Natural Park (MKNP) advised all LGUs within its jurisdiction to prepare an evacuation area for livestock.
All activities are strictly prohibited within the four- to six-kilometer radius danger zone and in all ecotourism sites within the MKNP area of jurisdiction, the advisory said.
The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines also issued a notice to airmen for flights near the volcano, with vertical limits from the surface to 17,000 feet. | GB
