BACOLOD CITY, December 19 ------ Authorities have evacuated 11,035 residents within the six-kilometer permanent danger zone (PDZ) surrounding restive Mt. Kanlaon in two cities and one town in Negros Occidental. Raul Fernandez, Director of the Office of Civil Defense Western Visayas and Chairperson of the Task Force Kanlaon, said the evacuees are from the cities of Bago and La Carlota and the municipality of La Castellana. “We have evacuated 100 percent of the targeted residents for evacuation on the Occidental side,” he said.
Fernandez said the mandatory evacuation order was issued in the light of increased volcanic activity, prompting authorities to act swiftly to protect residents from potential hazards. “The task force has implemented a comprehensive evacuation strategy aimed at saving lives and minimizing suffering in the event of a catastrophic eruption,” he said.
In Canlaon City, Negros Oriental, 5,229 of the 6,092 persons living in the danger zone have been evacuated as of 4:43 p.m. Monday. Expected rains triggered by a low pressure area could wash down ash and other debris spewed by Mt. Kanlaon during its Dec. 9 eruption. A muddy stream flow was reported in Moises Padilla, Negros Occidental. Donato Sermeno III, OCD Negros Island Region director, said checkpoints have been set up along roads leading to the six-kilometer danger zone and public transportation have been rerouted.
Indigenous peoples living in the danger zone in Canlaon City, he said, initially refused to evacuate as their leaders were consulting with the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples ( NCIP). “The NCIP advised them to follow evacuation instructions,” Sermeno said. The Bago City Council on Monday declared a state of calamity following the eruption of Mt. Kanlaon, according to Mayor Nicholas Yulo. “This is to access the city’s Quick Response Fund (QRF) that will be utilized by our City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council for necessary interventions,” he said
The city’s QRF is pegged at about P18 million. “One of the biggest problems Bago City is facing is sustainability. We expect to run out of resources to feed the evacuees by January,” Yulo said. The Bago City employees’ Christmas party, the mayor said, has been postponed as he called for prayers for the volcano to calm down so those in evacuation centers can have a bright Christmas. Yulo said they were evacuating 159 individuals or 49 families from Barangay Ilijan in Bago City on Monday. After the evacuation was completed, the road would be closed.
The Provincial Board last week declared the entire Negros Occidental under a state of calamity due to the eruption of Mt. Kanlaon. La Carlota City and La Castellana had previously also declared states of calamity to enable them to adequately respond to the calamity.
Source: inquirer.net
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