• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
The Office of Civil Defense (OCD)-Western Visayas has suggested preemptive evacuation of residents within the six-kilometer radius permanent danger zone (PDZ) in four local government units of Negros Occidental, which have several barangays located at the foot of restive Mt. Kanlaon.
Alert Level 2 prevails over the volcano, but the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) raised the possibility that the alert level may increase due to elevated volcanic sulfur dioxide (SO2) emission and volcanic-tectonic earthquakes recorded in the past several days.
Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said on Friday (Sept. 13) that the OCD-6 suggested preemptive evacuation for up to six-kilometer radius PDZ in the municipality of La Castellana as well as in the cities of Bago, La Carlota and San Carlos.
Lacson said that he was informed by the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office (PDRRMO) that La Castellana already complied with the suggestion of the OCD-6 while he expects that San Carlos will also do it on its side.
While he has yet to get a feedback from Bago and San Carlos, he said that their respective CDRRM Councils are closely coordinating with the PDRRM Council.
Mt. Kanlaon logged 17 volcanic earthquakes in the past 24 hours while SO2 emission reached over 10,800 tons on Sept. 13.
In Negros Oriental, a total of 145 families, composed of 423 individuals, have been evacuated in barangays of Pula, Masulog, Malaiba and Lumapao in Canlaon City.
Mayor Jose Chubasco Cardenas also ordered the implementation of a curfew, from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m., which includes those staying in the evacuation centers, a liquor ban, and the mandatory wearing of face masks.
Lacson also said the OCD-6 has recommended the use of Panaad Park and Stadium in Bacolod City as the evacuation center for La Castellana, Moises Padilla, La Carlota City, Bago City, and San Carlos City residents, in case the ongoing unrest of Mt. Kanlaon escalates.
“It will only be used for extreme cases, if there will be a major eruption. But we are hoping and praying that we don’t reach that stage,” he added.
Lacson said that he was told by La Castellana Mayor Alme Rhummyla Nicor-Mangilimutan that she prefers to house the displaced families in the town evacuation centers in the meantime.
The Department of Social Welfare and Development-6 reported that it has P144 million worth of food and non-food items available for Mt. Kanlaon response operations.
The municipal government of La Castellana also conducted a simulation exercise as part of the preparations, which includes revisiting the situation and lessons learned during the June 3 phreatic explosion to ensure smooth disaster response operations. | GB
