Mayon residents to be evacuated as ‘Tisoy’ threatens Bicol

GUINOBATAN, Albay, Philippines — The Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction Council will execute a pre-emptive evacuation on thousand of residents living at the slopes of Mount Mayon as Typhoon Tisoy threatens the Bicol region.

“We will start to evacuate 1,500 to 2,000 residents at 1 p.m. tomorrow [Sunday]. This is for their safety and we would like to attain zero casualties,” Teresita Alcantara III, MDRRMC chief, said Saturday.

According to her, the villages of Maninila, Tandarora, and part of Muladbucad Grande are prone to lahar flow as it is about 7 kilometers away from the slopes of Mayon.

The evacuees will stay temporarily at school buildings in Guinobatan town.

Guinobatan Mayor Gemma Ongjoco has already ordered the Social Welfare and Development Office to prepare food packs and give it to the evacuees as soon as they could be settled inside the evacuation camps.