| Situation Update No. 15 Ref.no.: VE-20091111-23786-PHL
Situation Update No. 15
On 2009-12-19 at 16:26:23 [UTC]
Event: Volcano Eruption
Location: Philippines Province of Albay, Bicol Region Mayon Volcano Number of Evacuated: 50000 person(s)
Situation: Authorities started day evacuating residents living within the eight-kilometer extended danger zone of Mayon Volcano in Albay on Saturday as the six-kilometer danger zone has already been cleared of residents, a regional civil defense official said. “They are already a little bit far but they will still be evacuated because we believe that they are still in danger in case of any major eruption,” said Raffy Alejandro, director of the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) in Bicol. So far, Alejandro said they have already secured 85 percent of the target 9,900 families by transporting them to at least 45 designated evacuation centers in Legazpi City, Tabac City and Ligao City and the towns of Daraga, Camalig, Sto. Domingo, Malilipot, and Guinobatan. A total of 8,080 families or 38,528 persons have already been forcibly evacuated as of 11 a.m. on Thursday based on the report of the National Disaster and Coordinating Council (NDCC). The continuing increase in the number of evacuees prompted the Albay provincial government to add more evacuation sites, as such there are now 45 evacuation centers in Albay – 11 in Legazpi City, six in Ligao City, seven in Tabaco City, and 21 others in various towns of the province. “The mandatory evacuation is continuing, we hope to finish it within this week or as soon as possible because of the increasing activities of Mayon,” said Alejandro. Senior Superintendent William Macavinta, director of the Albay Provincial Police Office, said they have also set up two evacuation centers for livestock animals of the affected residents.
“It was decided that we implement evacuation also to the animals so that they (residents) will have no more reason to go back or not to leave their homes. And we have also set up evacuation centers for the animals,” said Macavinta. He added that the livestock animals are either being brought to the Albay Breeding Center in Legazpi City or a makeshift animal evacuation site in Camalig town. Alert levels As this developed, Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said that when Alert Level 3 is hoisted, this means that major eruption is likely within weeks due to increase in volcanic activities such as frequent quakes, occurrence of rockfalls in the summit due to the ascent of magma and tremors, vigorous puffs of what appears to be white clouds from the crater and the sustained crater glow. July Sabit, Phivolcs spokesman, said that while a lava flow was already occurring, the other parameters they have been using in monitoring Mayon have not been complied in order to raise the alert level to 4. Sabit explained that under Alert Level 4, the volcanic earthquakes are becoming more persistent and that the crater glow is becoming more intense than before. Increase in lava fragments in the summit area is also visible under Alert Level 4. “The interpretation of Alert Level 4 is that hazardous eruption is possible within days,” said Sabit in a phone interview. Phivolcs has been using six-level alerts in categorizing volcano activity, the first is Alert Level 0 which means all the parameters being monitored are normal.
Alert level 1 means a breach in the normalcy such as slight increase in tremors and output of sulfur dioxide, as well as faint glow in the crater if you look at it from above. Under this level, eruption is not imminent. Alert Level 2, on the other hand, means additional increase in quakes and sulfur dioxide emission and more visible crater glow compared to that under Alert Level 1. In some cases, volcanologists are also using the confirmed reports of decrease in flow of wells and springs during rainy season as among the parameters in monitoring. The volcanic activities under Alert Level 2 could lead to an eruption as in the case of Mayon. “Basically, the raising of alert level depends on the increase volcanic activity which we have been using as parameters in monitoring. For example, we can compare alert level 1 as a mild fever for a person and if that fever worsens a little, then alert level 2 will be declared and so on,” said Sabit. The highest alert level, he said, is level 5 which means that eruption is already occurring which can be observed through occurrence of pyroclastic flows, tall eruption columns and extensive ashfalls.
Meanwhile, Bro. Eddie Villanueva, Bangon Pilipinas presidential candidate, encouraged Albayanos to be calm and cooperate with local officials’ efforts for evacuation. “This is a tough time for our kababayans in Albay especially that the world celebrates Christmas next week. But we call on them to trust the safety systems prepared by the local government,” Bro. Eddie said. Apart from being calm, Bro. Eddie also reminded Albayanos to hold on to hope this Christmas season. “Despite being away from home this Christmas, the Filipinos’ innate toughness will still drive them to see the brighter side of things,” Bro. Eddie said. Bro. Eddie also commended the “zero-casualty” objective of the evacuation efforts. He said, “The tested cooperation of Albay’s local officials, non- government organizations and community leaders in the province’s long experience of volcanic disasters has made the local government very capable to handle the situation. We remember that Albay even won a Galing Pook Award this year for its disaster management.” Bro. Eddie also raised concerns on the availability of calamity funds to help the victims go back to their normal lives later. “The public would like to know what has happened to the calamity fund under the Office of the President which the National Disaster Coordinating Council said was already depleted after typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng,” Bro. Eddie said. |
