Residents within the 7- to 8-kilometer extended danger zone from Mayon volcano have been advised to prepare for evacuation.
Albay Rep. Joey Salceda, citing the advisory of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs), said residents within this area must be prepared to evacuate “at a moment’s notice” and said that vehicles should be ready “as this could take days to complete.”
“At a moment’s notice, at least 8,000 additional families or 30,000 individuals will need to be evacuated. Again, that’s on top of the ones we already evacuated. You could imagine the number of mobility assets we will need to move them,” he said.
“Even with the mobility assets already deployed by the Armed Forces of the Philippines to support evacuation, we estimate it will take three-and-a-half days, given time-and-motion calculations,” he added.
“So we need all the vehicles we can prepare. My office is prepared to support the needs of local government units, and I have commitments from private sector members, including those in the construction and transport sectors, to provide transportation aid,” he noted.
“We need everything we can get, so right now, my appeal to government agencies is to help us prepare the needed mobility assets. Trucks, vans, buses – everything we can use to safely convey evacuees,” he said.
Mayon Volcano’s unrest has affected a total of 41,517 individuals or 10,652 families residing in 26 barangays, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said Sunday.
Of these, 18,751 people or 5,365 families were staying in 28 evacuation centers in the Bicol Region, while 1,427 people or 408 families were seeking temporary shelters outside of evacuation centers.
The NDRRMC said P130.5 million worth of assistance has been provided in the Bicol Region, so far.
A total of 397 rockfall events were recorded in Mayon Volcano in the past 24 hours, according to the Phivolcs.
As of 5 a.m., the Phivolcs bulletin showed that there were four volcanic earthquakes and two dome collapse pyroclastic density current events.
Mayon Volcano, which is currently under Alert Level 3 due to intensified unrest, also continued to have a “very slow effusion” of lava flow from its crater, reaching up to 2.7 kilometers along the Mi-isi Gully.
Lava flow along the Bonga Gully, meanwhile, stretched to 1.3 kilometers.
There were also lava collapses on both gullies within 3.3 kilometers and 4 kilometers along the Basud Gully, Phivolcs said.
Mayon Volcano also emitted a 1,500-meter-tall plume that drifted southwest, south-southwest, and northwest.
It also generated 864 tonnes of sulfur dioxide flux on Saturday, July 1.
The volcano’s edifice also remained inflated.
With these, Phivolcs reminded the public that entry into the six-kilometer radius of Mayon Volcano’s Permanent Danger Zone is not allowed.
Flying any aircraft close to the volcano is also prohibited.
Hazards such as rockfalls, landslides, avalanches, ballistic fragments, lava flows, lava fountaining, pyroclastic density currents, moderate-sized explosions, and lahar during heavy and prolonged rainfall may also occur.
Meanwhile, Phivolcs reported that Taal Volcano in Batangas released a 900-meter plume in the last 24 hours that drifted northeastward.
The agency’s 5 a.m. bulletin said Taal Volcano s also had 11 volcanic earthquakes, including eight volcanic tremors that lasted one to two minutes long.
Taal Volcano, which remained under Alert Level 1 due to low-level unrest, also had a short-term inflation on its western portion, while a long-term deflation was observed on the Taal Caldera.
The last time it generated sulfur dioxide flux was on Friday, June 30, amounting to 1,165 tonnes.
The acidity level in Taal’s main crater lake was also still at 0.48, while the temperature was at 74.1 degrees Celsius.
Entry into Taal Volcano Island, which is under the Permanent Danger Zone (PDZ), and flying any aircraft close to the volcano are not allowed.
Meanwhile, Kanlaon Volcano on the Negros Island logged a moderate 200-meter-tall plume that drifted northwest, Phivolcs said.
Two volcanic earthquakes were also recorded in Kanlaon Volcano, which is currently under Alert Level 1.
It generated 753 tonnes of sulfur dioxide on Saturday, July 1, and its edifice remained inflated.
Phivolcs said entry into the four-kilometer radius PDZ of Kanlaon Volcano, and flying any aircraft close to it is prohibited.