9,000 families evacuated fearing volcanic eruption in Philippines

Manila: Nearly 9,000 families in the province of Albay have been evacuated to safer grounds amid fears of a major volcanic eruption as Mount Mayon continued to show signs of increased activity.

Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita in a press briefing, quoted Defence Secretary and National Disaster Coordinating Council chairman Norberto Gonzales as saying that 90 per cent of families living within the government-declared six-kilometre danger zone around the volcano have already been evacuated.

"Secretary Gonzales said they would be able to complete at anytime, the 100 per cent evacuation of residents in hazard zones," Ermita said.

On Tuesday, the Philippine Institute on Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs), raised the eruption alert level to three in the five step warning signal as the volcano oozed superheated lava.

Alert level No 5 signifies actual eruption while alert level three indicates "relatively high unrest, more frequent tremors and sustained crater glow."

Reports said thousands of residents were evacuated and loaded aboard military, police and government trucks to the 13 evacuation centres in Albay.

Albay Governor Joey Salceda, in a report on GMANewsTV, said the evacuated residents were from the towns of Camalig, Daraga, Malilipot and the cities of Legazpi and Tabaco.

Regional police director Chief Supt. Ruben Padua said he has dispatched teams to closely work with the local civil defence officials for the smooth evacuation of residents living within the six-kilometre permanent danger zone and the extended eight-kilometre danger zone.

‘Mandatory' efforts

"As of 8 am Wednesday, alert level 3 is still in effect and mandatory evacuation is ongoing by the national police and office of civil defence," said Padua.

Aside from actual involvement in evacuation, Padua said police are also tasked to secure evacuation centres from thieves and to provide traffic assistance to motorists.

To prevent casualties, Padua also said that government authorities were ordered to enforce "no human activity" within the danger zones.

Since Monday, Mayon volcano has been showing signs of imminent eruption with volcanic quakes recorded, several ash explosions and continuing lava trickle from the crater.

Salceda said that there is a strong possibility that a state of calamity will be declared in the affected areas if the volcano's restiveness continues.

While residents are fleeing Mount Mayon's wrath, tourists, both foreign and local, are flocking to vantage points to marvel at the volcano's potentially destructive beauty.

The number of tourists rushing to the area had prompted the United States government to issue a travel advisory to its citizens.

Precautions

90% of families within the danger zone evacuated

13 evacuation centres established in Albay