By JEN BAYLON
A total of 80,000 food packs have been prepared for families affected by the recent eruption of Kanlaon Volcano, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) said yesterday.
“More than 40,000 family food packs and more than 14,000 non-food items are prepositioned for Negros Occidental,” DSWD spokesperson Irene Dumlao said in “Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon.”
The DSWD has also prepositioned more than 15,000 non-food items for residents, including evacuees affected by the eruption in both Negros provinces.
“At least 40,000 family food packs and more than 1,800 non-food items are prepositioned in Negros Oriental,” Dumlao said.
“We have already released some to the affected populations, particularly the families in evacuation centers,” she added.
Arwin Razo, director of the DSWD in Western Visayas, oversaw the deployment of food and non-food items for distribution yesterday.
“We will provide family food packs and non-food items that they need by providing augmentation to the resources of local government units,” Razo said in a statement.
The food packs, sourced from the DSWD hubs in Iloilo and Cebu, are part of a broader effort to provide essential supplies to families displaced by the eruption.
The regional office has also activated three disaster response clusters: protection for internally displaced persons, distribution of food and non-food items, and camp coordination and management.
Meanwhile, DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian emphasized that the distribution of food, hygiene kits, sleeping kits, and other necessities is ongoing to ensure that evacuees do not feel compelled to return to their homes.
The agency has deployed water filtration systems to ensure that affected residents have access to clean drinking water.
Gatchalian noted that more water filtration units are expected to arrive from Manila for distribution among local government units in Negros Occidental and Negros Oriental.
On Monday, December 9, Kanlaon Volcano erupted explosively, prompting the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) to hoist Alert Level 3 over the volcano, indicating magmatic unrest.
The eruption lasted for seven minutes, with Kanlaon emitting plumes reaching approximately 3,000 meters and drifting west-southwest, the Phivolcs said.
Pyroclastic density currents from the summit descended the slopes on the southeastern edifice.
Alert Level 3 indicated that the magmatic eruption may progress to further explosive eruptions, the Phivolcs said. / With reports from PNA / JB, WDJ