Albay gov't extends danger zone around Mayon Volcano to 7 kilometers

The provincial government of Albay on Monday extended the danger zone around Mayon Volcano to seven kilometers due to its "increasing unrest."

In an advisory signed by Governor Edcel Greco Lagman, the Albay government said that "all populations inside the seven-kilometer extended danger zone is placed under preparedness status."

This meant that an "evacuation will be executed anytime" and evacuees "should bring with them necessities in the evacuation center."

This measure was taken to ensure zero casualties and for the interest of public safety.

The Albay government said the C/MDRRMOs and BDRRMC needed to be constantly ready to implement an evacuation anytime.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said earlier that it considered recommending the evacuation of residents beyond the six-kilometer radius of Mayon Volcano’s Permanent Danger Zone (PDZ) due to a lava flow activity that took place Sunday evening.

Mayon Volcano is currently under Alert Level 3 due to its magmatic unrest. 

So far, PHIVOLCS recorded 21 volcanic earthquakes, 260 rockfall events, and three pyroclastic density current events on Mayon Volcano in the past 24 hours.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said earlier that more than 14,000 residents were evacuated due the continued unrest at Mayon Volcano. 

The NDRRMC explained that 13,792 individuals or 3,782 families were staying at 22 evacuation centers, while 584 people or 156 families were staying somewhere else.

Of the displaced families, 883 were from Camalig, 57 were from Ligao, 615 were from Daraga, 1,046 were from Guinobatan, 899 were from Malilipot, and 438 were from Tabaco.

For its part, the Department of Social Welfare and Development said it had distributed over 50,000 food provisions to affected local governments. 

“What we did was by yesterday, kahapon pa lang, we gave five days, 15 days' worth of food provisions to the nine local government units affected,” said DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian on ANC.

“So we gave them 38,000 worth of food boxes sa LGU level, nine LGUs. And then another 15,000 with the governors sa provincial warehouse,” Gatchalian added.

The food packs contained six kilos of rice, nine canned goods, coffee, and ready-to-eat oatmeal.

Gatchalian said the national and provincial governments would take turns in food distribution.

Last Sunday, The Department of Health earmarked P1.8 million for a contingency fund that would aid those affected by Mayon Volcano’s intensified unrest. 

An Alert Level 3 was raised on Mayon Volcano on Thursday-June 8, signifying "increased tendency towards a hazardous eruption," after the volcano's growing summit dome repeatedly collapsed, generating an increasing number and volume of rockfall events since Monday-June 5. — DVM, GMA Integrated News