More than 19,000 individuals evacuated amid Mayon Volcano unrest —NDRRMC

Almost 20,000 residents in the Bicol Region were already evacuated amid Mayon Volcano’s continued unrest, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) on Sunday.

NDRRMC’s latest situational report showed that 19,062 individuals or 5,492 families are currently staying in 28 evacuation centers, while 1,057 individuals or 300 families were seeking shelters outside of evacuation centers.

Mayon Volcano, which is currently under Alert Level 3 due to intensified unrest or magmatic unrest, has affected a total of 38,979 people or 10,123 families in 26 barangays in the Bicol Region.

No casualties nor missing persons were reported so far, NDRRMC said.

In a Super Radyo dzBB interview, Albay Public Safety and Management Office (APSEMO) officer-in-charge Eugene Escobar said that the number of evacuees rose as those living within the seven-kilometer radius of Mayon Volcano’s danger zone were also being transferred to other towns.

Entry into the six-kilometer radius of Mayon Volcano’s Permanent Danger Zone (PDZ) is not allowed, with the Office of Civil Defense studying possible ways to ban settlements within the area.

Albay Governor Edcel Greco Lagman also said Thursday that the provincial government is considering the permanent relocation of residents living within the six-kilometer radius PDZ.

“Mayroon pang mahigit 3,000 pamilya na kailangang ilipat at pagawan ng pabahay,” Escobar said.

(There are more than 3,000 families that need to be relocated into new homes.)

The “very slow” effusion of lava from the Mayon Volcano’s summit dome has reached as far as 1.5 kilometers along the Mi-isi Gully, according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) on Sunday.

Three volcanic earthquakes, 274 rockfall events, and 11 pyroclastic density current events were also recorded by PHIVOLCS in the past 24 hours.

NDRRMC said assistance amounting to P62,426,692.65 has also been provided to the affected residents, particularly those in the province of Albay. —KG, GMA Integrated News