Kanlaon residents still in evac centers

The Office of Civil Defense (OCD) on Sunday revealed that more than 8,000 residents remain in evacuation centers nearly three months after Kanlaon Volcano’s eruption.

OCD Administrator Undersecretary Ariel Nepomuceno in a radio interview said that a total of 8,596 people, or 2,686 families, have been evacuated since the volcano’s explosive eruption in December and many are housed in schools, disrupting classes.

Nepomuceno added that many evacuees are experiencing boredom and frustration from being away from their homes and livelihoods.

“We told President Marcos two weeks ago that even if we live in a 5-star hotel, if we live there for three months, we will really get bored, more so for those in evacuation centers,” Nepomuceno said.

“Most of our 22 evacuation centers are schools. Those were not really built as evacuation centers. So the situation of our countrymen is really difficult,” he added.

To recall, Kanlaon Volcano erupted last 9 December 2024, prompting the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology to raise its alert level to 3, indicating magmatic unrest.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said last month he wanted long-term solutions to address the displacement of families affected by Kanlaon’s activity.