Three evacuation sites are being prepared by the San Carlos City government for evacuees in case Kanlaon volcano erupts, Mayor Renato Gustilo said yesterday.

Gustilo said the city government is developing the evacuation sites in the Cudcud-Quezon area, a two-hectare land in Barangay Prosperidad, and another three-hectare lot on the city government’s property.

“We are currently developing the said areas. A major concern is funding for the development of the evacuation areas,” Gustilo said.

The facilities are enough to accommodate as many evacuees as they can from Barangay Cudcud, as well as from Negros Oriental’s Canlaon City, the mayor said.

However, he said they cannot possibly sustain feeding all the displaced residents for a long period of time.

“A big problem is food for the evacuees,” Gustilo said.

“They will drain the city’s coffers and no money will be left anymore for other developments of the city,” he added.

Another priority is putting up comfort rooms and water systems in the facilities.

Data from the Office of Civil Defense revealed that if Alert Level 4 is raised at Kanlaon, a total of 1,637 families, composed of 6,556 individuals in San Carlos, will be affected.

“We are trying to get data if the residents can accommodate their relatives,” Gustilo said.

“We are studying who are the residents with relatives in Canlaon City. It’s like an ‘Adopt-A-Home’ setup,” he added./WDJ