ILOILO CITY (PIA) — The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Field Office in Western Visayas is on high alert and closely monitoring all evacuation centers in Negros Island following the eruption of Kanlaon Volcano early morning, May 13.
According to the recent report from the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS), a moderately explosive eruption occurred that lasted five minutes.
The eruption generated a grayish plume that rose about 4.5 kilometers above the summit crater and drifted southwest. Audible rumbling was reported in Barangay Pula, Canlaon City in Negros Oriental and La Castellana town in Negros Occidental.
Meanwhile, thin ashfall was reported in various barangays of La Carlota City including Cubay, San Miguel, Yubo, and Ara-al; the villages of Ilijan and Binubuhan in Bago City; and in La Castellana with barangays Biak-na-Bato, Sag-ang, and Mansalanao, all in Negros Occidental province.
The DSWD Western Visayas, through its Disaster Response Management Division (DRMD), remains in constant coordination with affected Local Government Units (LGUs) to monitor the situation and assess the needs of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).
DSWD Regional Director Arwin O. Razo has directed the DRMD to ensure the readiness of relief supplies. A total of 81,624 Family Food Packs (FFPs) are currently on standby in Bacolod Warehouse and various prepositioned sites across the province, ready for immediate deployment, the agency report noted.
The DSWD Disaster Response Management Bureau (DRMB), days before the eruption, had completed a technical assistance training on the operation, management, and maintenance of the agency’s mobile kitchen, water tanker, and water treatment facilities.
The training was attended by Quick Response Teams (QRTs) from DSWD Western Visayas and the Negros Island Region (NIR), Regional Incidental Management Team (RIMT), including LGUs from La Castellana and La Carlota City, both of which are most severely impacted by the ongoing volcanic activity and currently managing evacuation centers sheltering IDPs.
This ensures that the frontliners in disaster response are well-equipped and capacitated on the use of the logistical units, designed to provide immediate access to hot and nutritious meals and potable water supply for the IDPs.
Alert Level 3 or magmatic unrest prevails over Kanlaon Volcano.
PHIVOLCS warns of possible life-threatening hazards and advises residents within the six-kilometer danger zone to stay evacuated and prepare in case unrest further escalates and a hazardous worst-case explosive eruption becomes imminent.
Ashfall precautions are strongly advised, including the use of protective masks or a wet cloth to prevent ash inhalation, particularly for vulnerable groups such as the elderly, individuals with respiratory conditions, pregnant women, and infants.
Meanwhile, DSWD Western Visayas assures the public that adequate relief assistance and response mechanisms are in place should the volcanic activity escalate. (AAL/FRG/PIA6/with reports from DSWD Western Visayas)
