The city government of Canlaon immediately implemented safety measures to protect the residents living around Mt. Kanlaon following its eruption on December 9.
Phivolcs has hoisted Alert Level 3 over Mount Kanlaon. This means a magmatic eruption has begun, and it may progress to explosive eruptions.
Canlaon City Mayor Jose Chubasco Cardenas immediately ordered the activation of the city’s Incident Command System and directed the local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office to monitor the status of the volcano.
Canlaon City is one of the local government units (LGUs) surrounding Mt. Kanlaon, but is the only LGU within the province of Negros Oriental, as the rest of the affected LGUs are within Negros Occidental.
Cardenas ordered the suspension of classes at all levels in both private and public schools in the city.
Work in all government offices in the city is also suspended except for departments that are essential during disaster response.
The mayor also imposed a liquor ban and curfew from 10:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. as an additional safety precaution.
Cardenas also ordered the mandatory wearing of face masks due to ash fall as the volcano’s magmatic eruption could bring harmful gasses and pose health risks to the people.
He also advised residents living in barangays Pula, Malaiba, Masulog, and Lumapao, which are located near the volcano, to get ready for evacuation.
As of 8:00 p.m., the Canlaon City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office reported there are eight families (33 individuals) from Barangay Pula temporarily staying at Jose B. Cardenas Memorial ES Uptown Campus, while 75 families (241 individuals) from Barangay Masulog are temporarily staying at Macario Espanola Memorial Elementary School.
“We, your leaders in the city, are on duty so we can respond accordingly to your needs,” Cardenas said in a video posted on Canlaon’s official Facebook page.
The city government also prepositioned dump trucks to be used for evacuation of residents living in the permanent danger zone near the volcano.
He also urged the private sector if they can lend their trucks to the city government to be used during the evacuation process. (PIA-7 NegOr)