36 villages in Iriga City affected by ash fall; classes suspended

NAGA CITY—All the 36 barangays (villages) in Iriga City in Camarines Sur province were affected by ash falls that came from Mount Mayon in Albay province, according to Marieser Almelor, city disaster risk reduction and management officer of Iriga, on Wednesday.

She said 17 of these villages are severely affected with at least one inch of ash fall.

Almelor said the city government has distributed 1,500 masks to the barangays extremely affected by ash fall. She said fire trucks have been deployed to flush out ashes on the road and school buildings. The ash fall was enough to cause a thin grey mark on cars’ windshields.

Classes in all levels, public and private, were suspended since Monday.

Mayor Madelaine Alfelor said the suspension was made to ensure the safety of the students. On Monday, the ash fall from restive Mayon volcano reached the city and the towns of Baao, Balatan, Bato, Buhi, Bula, and Nabua comprising Camarines Sur’s Rinconanda area.

The Iriga City government also sent 1,000 kilos of tilapia to Tabaco City on Wednesday morning. The truckload of fish will be supplied to the public kitchen in Tabaco that prepares food for the evacuees.#