LEGAZPI CITY — As the restiveness of Mt. Mayon continues to intensify due to lava flow down the Miisi and Bonga Gullies and lava collapse events, Albay Public Safety Emergency Management Office head Cedric Daep reminded local government units (LGUs) to inventory school classrooms that are being used as evacuation camps of thousands of Albayanos.
“We want local officials affected by the Mayon eruption to assess the classrooms, water, toilet facilities – including solid and liquid waste disposal system, communal kitchen, medical station with provision for normal spontaneous delivery, breastfeeding corner and recreational space to ensure the comfortable condition of the evacuees in times like this,” Daep said.
As of Tuesday morning, five towns and three cities of Albay have evacuated residents inside and within the periphery of the 6-km Permanent Danger Zone (PDZ) and 2-km extended danger zone.
The municipalities of Daraga, Camalig, Guinobatan, Malilipot and Sto. Domingo and cities of Ligao, Tabaco and Legazpi evacuated more than 20,855 individuals or 5,339 families from 26 barangays.
Meanwhile, the Albay Provincial Health Office, in its advisory cautioned the public on the effect of volcanic ash – the powder-sized to sand-sized particles being blown into the air by the erupting volcano.
“Volcanic ash may cause health effects like; nose and throat irritation; coughing; bronchitis-like illness; discomfort while breathing; eye irritation; minor skin problems and injuries/death due to roof collapse or vehicular accidents resulting from slippery roads and poor visibility,” the advisory read.
It advised the residents to “minimize exposure to ash, stay indoors as much as possible, keep doors and windows closed and keep home from infiltration by using damp curtains, blankets or clothing”.
“Use dust masks, wear goggles or eyeglasses to protect eyes from irritation, while pets must be kept in closed shelters, dampen ash in your yard to prevent it from billowing up into the air,” the advisory added.
Ed Laguerta, Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) resident volcanologist, reported that quiet lava effusion from a new summit lava dome, flow down the Miisi and Bonga Gullies and lava collapse events characterized Mayon Volcano’s eruptive activity in the past 24 hours.
A total of nine episodes of tremor, four of which accompanied short-duration lava fountaining, and 75 lava collapse events, corresponding to rock fall along the front and margins of advancing lava and short pyroclastic flows downriver of Miisi Gully within the PDZ, were recorded by Mayon’s seismic network, Laguerta added.
Collapse events and some degassing at the summit crater generated ash that rose to two kilometers and fell on the barangays of Camalig, Guinobatan and Polangui.
Lava flow on the Miisi Gully has presently advanced to approximately two kilometers from the crater, while shorter volume lava flows have been emplaced on the upper slopes of the Bonga Gully. (PNA)
