The Office of Civil Defense (OCD) announced yesterday that 9,942 families or 39,258 individuals in Western and Central Visayas have so far been evacuated following the eruption of Mt. Kanlaon on Monday, December 9.
The data is based on the Task Force Kanlaon-Inter-Agency Coordinating Cell, the agency said in an advisory.
The OCD said these families are equivalent to 46 percent of the projected 16,910 families or 84,549 individuals slated for evacuation.
Four municipalities and cities in Western Visayas (Region 6), including Bago City, La Carlota City, La Castellana City, and San Carlos City, as well as Canlaon City in Central Visayas (Region 8), fall within the six-kilometer permanent danger zone (PDZ).
A total of 15 barangays from both regions are expected to be evacuated under the Alert Level 3 evacuation protocol recommended by the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs).
It added that humanitarian assistance is urgently needed, including family food packs, hygiene kits and sleeping kits, to meet the immediate needs of those in evacuation centers.
Evacuation operations continue within the volcano’s six-kilometer PDZ, while the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) provided P4.49 million in humanitarian assistance to affected regions.
In addition, DSWD has prepositioned P488.7 million in standby funds and relief stockpiles in the affected regions and central hubs.
An executive order from the Canlaon City government has mandated the evacuation of residents, prioritizing vulnerable populations such as children and the elderly living within the four-kilometer PDZ.
The Regional Task Force’s Law and Order Cluster has been tasked with enforcing this order.
Furthermore, additional evacuation centers outside the six-kilometer PDZ are being identified.
In Western Visayas, a total of 9,797 families, or 38,772 individuals, have been evacuated and are currently in shelters.
Most families within the PDZ have been evacuated, with some from the seven- to eight-kilometer PDZ also relocating preemptively.
In Central Visayas, 145 families, equivalent to 486 persons, are currently in two evacuation centers: Macario Española Memorial School and Jose B. Cardena Memorial High School.
An additional four families or 12 individuals are staying outside evacuation centers.
Primary concerns include ensuring sufficient food supplies for displaced populations and providing adequate accommodation in evacuation centers.
Assistance worth P122,000 in family food packs has been distributed to those affected.
Meanwhile, in an online briefing, OCD deputy administrator for administration, Assistant Secretary Bernardo Rafaelito Alejandro IV, said around 12,000 persons are in evacuation centers as of this time.
“Ang datos natin ngayon nasa 12,000 and still counting kasi ongoing pa po ang effort ng different local government units na mayroon pong communities around the six-kilometer PDZ. So we are talking La Carlota City, La Castellana City and Canlaon City, sila po ‘yung may mga immediate na kailangang i-evacuate,” he added.
Bernardo also said there are 29 to 30 evacuation centers as of this moment.
He added that the OCD has been continuously providing support to the different LGUs through the DSWD, which is the agency in charge of camp management.
Bernardo added that the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, through OCD, is using a whole-of-government approach.
He said they are using different resources coming from the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the Philippine Coast Guard, the Philippine National Police and the Department of Public Works and Highways to help expedite ongoing evacuations.
Worst-case scenario
Also, Bernardo said they are also planning for a worst-case scenario which might be triggered by major volcanic activity and a higher alert level.
“And we are looking at kung mag-extend man tayo up to the eight-kilometer PDZ, aabot tayo ng 116,000 individuals. Ngayon kung talagang i-extend pa up to the 10-kilometer danger zone, aabot tayo ng halos 139,000 individuals,” Bernardo said.
With this in mind, the OCD official said they are looking at how to further improve the evacuation centers by adding wash facilities, community kitchens and private spaces.
400 cops deployed for response ops
The PNP, meanwhile, said around 400 police officers have been deployed to assist in preemptive evacuation in affected areas.
PNP spokesperson, Brigadier General Jean Fajardo, in a press briefing in Camp Crame, said the police are also securing evacuation centers where affected residents are taking shelter.
“Our personnel and mobility assets, including those in the nearest provinces that are unaffected, are on standby to augment the response and attend to the needs of affected municipalities and barangays,” she added. (PNA)