By Christine Fabro
Albay Governor Edcel Greco Lagman on Thursday night, June 8, ordered the immediate evacuation of families within the 6-kilometer permanent danger zone (PDZ) of Mayon Volcano.
According to Albay Provincial Information Office, the mandatory evacuation of about 2,400 families or 10,000 individuals from barangays residing within the PDZ will start early morning of Friday, June 9.
This after the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) raised the status of Mayon Volcano from Alert Level 2 to Alert Level 3 due to its increased tendency towards a hazardous eruption.
“As much as possible, I want to maintain the zero casualty record of our province, so with the help of the agencies present here, I hope we’ll be able to evacuate them to safer places,” Lagman said during the emergency meeting held Thursday.
Based on the data from Albay Public Safety and Emergency Management Office (APSEMO), about 26 barangays are within the 6-km PDZ.
Among these are San Roque and Santa Teresa in Malilipot; Anoling, Quirangay, Sua, and Tumpa in Camalig; Barangay Mi-isi in Daraga; Dona Tomasa, Masarawag, Muladbucad Grande, and Muladbucad Pequeno in Guinobatan; Padang, Matanag, Bonga, and Mabinit in Legazpi; Baligang in Ligao; Calbayog and Canaway in Malilipot; Fidel Surtida, Lidong, San Fernando, and Santa Misericordia in Sto. Domingo; and, Buang, Magapo, Oson, and San Isidro in Tabaco.
