Mayon still restive, 2-K residents flee

NAGA CITY — Mayon Volcano continues to show heightened activity, prompting authorities to evacuate more than 2,000 people from their homes within the six-kilometer permanent danger zone (PDZ) in Albay province as of Saturday.

The Albay Public Safety and Emergency Management Office (APSEMO) said in a report that as of 5 p.m. Friday, local government units in areas around the volcano’s slopes evacuated 746 families, or 2,041 residents, following the moderately explosive eruption of the volcano at 11:53 a.m.

The APSEMO monitoring report said the evacuees were from Tabaco City, Camalig, and Barangay Baligang in Ligao City. Tabaco had the most families evacuated, with 531, followed by Camalig with 205, and Ligao with 10.

Meanwhile, the LGUs of Malilipot, Legazpi City, Sto. Domingo, Daraga, and Guinobatan were monitoring the situation in their areas while being on standby for possible evacuations.

Red alert up

The APSEMO placed the Provincial Disaster Operation Center under red alert to trigger continuous monitoring and coordination with LGUs and response clusters.

The Albay Provincial Health Office distributed 22,000 surgical masks to health facilities and LGUs to protect residents from inhaling harmful materials from the ashfall that fell from the volcano’s 3 kilometer-high ash plume.

Mayon remains under Alert Level 3 (increased tendency towards a hazardous eruption) after the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology elevated its status from Alert Level 2 (decreased unrest) Friday noon.