ILOLO City – The Office of Civil Defense (OCD) is readying for a higher alert level in case of a Mount Kanlaon eruption.
OCD Region 6 Director Raul Fernandez, however, said they did not monitor any volcanic activity on Wednesday, December 25, in contrast to the eruptions recorded on Monday, December 23.
Following the eruption activities, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) gave them three possible scenarios – a lava flow, a violent eruption, and for volcano activities to plateau.
Fernandez said that based on their observations and compared to other active volcanoes in the country, what happened on Monday would cause lava flow.
“On the side of OCD, we are preparing for heightened alert level, and the advice of Phivolcs was we maintain at Alert Level 3. There is an ongoing preparation in Himamaylan City, where we establish a tent city, in case the alert level escalates,” he added.
For Negros Oriental, the municipality of Vallehermoso and Guihulngan City were identified for the proposed tent city.
“We will just wait for the advice from Phivolcs, which closely monitors the activity of the volcano. Currently, we are on status quo because, based on their analysis, the threat of lahar is not that much since the volume of materials to become a lahar is not along the waterways. It’s not that alarming, but we are preparing,” he added.
Fernandez said in the past two weeks, the Regional Inter-Agency Coordinating Cell has met daily to address current issues and concerns.
The OCD-6 chief added that there are sufficient relief goods for the affected families. The Philippine Red Cross and concerned local government units (LGUs) also provide hot meals to families in evacuation centers.
Data from the Department of Social Welfare and Development showed humanitarian assistance extended to families impacted by the Kanlaon eruption reached more than P36.19 million, including those from LGUs and non-government organizations. The department spent more than P30.5 million.
As of December 25, the DSWD has recorded 2,680 families in evacuation centers, while 1,543 sought temporary shelter with friends or relatives. (PNA)
