BY DOMINIQUE GABRIEL G. BAÑAGA
BACOLOD City – Heeding the advice of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS), the local government units of San Carlos City and Bago City have started reviewing their disaster preparedness plans.
Kanlaon volcano showed increased activity early last week but in recent days seemed to have quieted down.
San Carlos City’s Mayor Renato Gustilo alerted the villages of Quezon and Codcod which are nearest the volcano. He urged residents to be ready at all times.
The city government’s Operations and Warning Division made a quick visit to the two villages over the weekend. Preparations were discussed with barangay officials and residents.
The villages’ evacuation plans prepared a few years ago were reviewed.
High-risk sitios were also identified, the evacuation sites, pickup points, evacuation protocols and related concerns.
Officials of Quezon and Codcod discussed with the Operations and Warning Division, too, their functional transportation, communications capacity, and budget allocation, or lack thereof.
In Bago City, Mary Jane Ortizo, head of the city’s Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office (DRRMO), said they are monitoring the volcano’s activities and are releasing daily public advisories.
The Bago City DRRMO also attended the pre-disaster risk assessment meeting led by the Negros Occidental Provincial DRRMO last week, and have begun stocking up on facemasks, food and non-food items.
According to Ortizo, they are reviewing their contingency plans and have identified the villages of Ilijan and Mailom as the first to be affected in the event of a volcanic eruption.
The two barangays are located close to Kanlaon and have a combined population of more than 12,000 people.
Ortizo advised the two villages to also review their disaster plans.
Last week, the municipal government of La Castellana started making preparations in case PHIVOLCS escalate the alert level of Kanlaon volcano.
La Castellana already identified five possible evacuation sites. Four of them are public schools while the fifth is located in the town’s Barangay Talaptap.
The villages of Masulog, Biaknabato, Cabagnaan, and Mansalanao were also identified by the town’s Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office (DRRMO) that will be directly impacted in case the volcano’s alert level escalates.
PHIVOLCS director Dr. Renato Solidum said they currently don’t see a need to increase Kanlaon’s Alert Level. However, he emphasized that local chief executives must revisit their disaster preparedness plans.
Kanlaon remains under Alert Level 1. Entry to the permanent four-kilometer danger zone is prohibited./PN
