Some 22 families, composed of 80 individuals, affected by the eruption of Mt. Kanlaon in Negros Occidental are now occupying a new resettlement site in Bago City to further protect them from the ongoing threat posed by the volcano.
In a report, the city government said the internally displaced persons (IDPs) were transferred on Monday, March 31, to the Payag sang Kapag-on Village in Barangay Napoles, after staying for almost four months at the Regional Evacuation Center in Barangay Lag-asan.
“Instead of modular tents, the local government unit [LGU] utilizes modernized nipa huts or ‘bahay kubo’ mainly for its sustainability,” it added.
When the project was introduced in January, City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office head Dr. Merijene Ortizo said nipa huts are a more resilient alternative to tents.
“The structures are specifically designed to provide privacy and natural ventilation for the families, while fostering a communal living environment,” she added.
The Payag sang Kapag-on Village, which stands on a seven-hectare property owned by the LGU, houses the IDPs from Purok Manokan, Barangay Ilijan, situated within the six-kilometer permanent danger zone of Mt. Kanlaon.
The temporary resettlement site is equipped with underground electrical cables, LED (light-emitting diode) lights, and septic tanks for portable toilets.
It is among the initiatives undertaken by the city government to prepare for the possible escalation of Mt. Kanlaon’s status from Alert Level 3 to 4, in case of another eruption, following the explosive eruption on December 9, 2024.
In La Carlota and San Carlos cities and La Castellana town, evacuation centers also remain open, accommodating their residents from villages located within the six-kilometer permanent danger zone.
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology posted on social media time-lapse footages of ash emissions at the volcano’s summit crater that occurred four times, at 5:57 a.m. to 6:14 a.m.; 7:59 a.m. to 10:01 a.m.; 10:28 a.m. to 10:41 a.m.; and 11:40 a.m. to 12:24 p.m.
“These events generated grayish plumes that rose 300 to 500 meters above the crater before drifting to the general southwest,” it said. (PNA)