340 people evacuate from Bulusan danger zone
BACK TO EVACUATION CENTER Residents of ashfall-affected Barangay Puting Sapa in Juban, Sorsogon, are ordered evacuated again on Friday after the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology observed increased seismic activity of Bulusan Volcano, only two days after it calmed down following its phreatic eruption on June 5. PHOTO COURTESY OF THE SORSOGON PROVINCIAL INFORMATION OFFICE
LEGAZPI CITY — At least 106 families or 340 individuals in Juban town in Sorsogon province were evacuated again from the danger zone of Mt. Bulusan on Friday, June 10.
Arian Aguallo, information officer of municipal disaster risk reduction and management officer (MDRRMO) in Juban, said as of 8 p.m., the 79 families (253 people) from Barangay Puting Sapa were housed at Juban Evacuation Center, while the 27 families (87 people) were at the gymnasium.
Residents of Barangay Puting Sapa in Juban, Sorsogon, board the truck to evacuate again on Friday after the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology observed increased seismic activity of Bulusan Volcano, only two days after it calmed down following its phreatic eruption on June 5. PHOTO COURTESY OF THE SORSOGON PROVINCIAL INFORMATION OFFICE
“Initially, 155 individuals were identified in the barangay as vulnerable population, but other residents voluntarily joined the evacuation,” Aguallo said.
The local government earlier ordered a pre-emptive evacuation due to the increased seismic activity of the volcano.
The June 5 phreatic eruption blanketed several villages with ash including the villages of Puting Sapa, Buraburan, Añog, Bacolod, Calmayon, Catanusan and Guruyan in Juban town and the villages of Bolos, Cogon, Monbon, Tinampo and Gulang Gulang in Irosin town.
Dr. Edric Vargas, in charge of the DRRM-Health section of the town’s rural health unit, said if another eruption occurs, the residents would not be exposed again to ash fall.
“Evacuees are now safe from exposure to ashfall because they are now far from the 4-to-6 kilometer danger zone,” he said.
The Barangay Puting Sapa is within the danger zone of the volcano.
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