LEGAZPI CITY — Thousands of Mayon-affected villagers housed in temporary shelters were sent home Friday, February 2, after the Albay Public Safety and Emergency Management Office (APSEMO), Office of Civil Defense (OCD) and Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) decided to decamp the evacuees from outside the eight-kilometer-radius extended danger zone (EDZ).
OCD-Bicol Regional Director Claudio Yucot said, “The evacuation of residents beyond 8-km extended danger/buffer zone was the result of fear. However, evacuees living inside the 6-km permanent danger zone and the 7km to 8km buffer zone will remain at evacuation centers”.
“Our decision was based on the recommendation of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology that we can decamp residents outside the 6-km-radius permanent danger zone and we rely on science, not with the order of other people,” he said.
APSEMO head Cedric Daep said they were yet to verify the number of evacuees who were sent home.
As of January 31, there were 21,950 families or 84,415 individuals who evacuated from the municipalities of Guinobatan, Malilipot, Bacacay, Camalig, Daraga, Sto. Domingo and the cities of Ligao, Tabaco and Legazpi from the 6-km PDZ and 7-8-km EDZ.
Eduardo Laguerta, resident volcanologist, said the volcano remains under Alert Level 4 because of the possibility of a hazardous eruption.
“Hindi natin pwede alisin ang (we cannot discount a) possible eruption since may (there is still) lava flow pa”, Laguerta said.
Based on Phivolcs models within the observation period, Mayon Volcano’s cumulative estimated total volume of ejecta has reached 46.2 million cubic meters since January 13.
Meanwhile, based on the bulletin issued by Phivolcs today, a total of 338 volcanic earthquakes, most of which corresponded to sporadic and weak fountaining events, two (2) tremor events, 11 distinct episodes of pyroclastic density current generation from lava collapse and two (2) rockfall events were recorded by Mayon’s seismic monitoring network in the past 24 hours. (/PNA)
