By Alec Go
The provincial government of Albay has declared a province-wide state of calamity on Friday, June 9, due to the activity of Mayon Volcano and its increasing tendency to erupt.
According to Albay’s Provincial Information Office, this is pursuant to the Resolution No. 0607-2023 of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan ng Albay, following the raising of Alert Level 3 (increased tendency towards a hazardous eruption) over the volcano on Thursday, June 8.
The declaration will enable local government units to utilize calamity funds for disaster response operations and to perform emergency functions for disaster avoidance.
It will also allow the province to mobilize all its resources for disaster mitigation.
Earlier, a code blue alert was declared by the provincial health office to augment health and emergency resources to respond to the impact of Mayon’s activity.
The province has already implemented preemptive and mandatory evacuation on around 2,640 families or more than 10,000 individuals within the six-kilometer permanent danger zone.
The provincial government said an additional 4,415 families will be evacuated once the status is raised to Alert Level 4.
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said 199 rockfall events and six pyroclastic density currents have been observed from 5:00 a.m. of June 8 to 5:00 a.m. to June 9.
A crater glow is also seen and the volcano’s edifice is inflated. – cf
