Mayon Volcano in Albay (MARK ALVIC ESPLANA / file photo)
After almost six months, the alert level classification of Mayon Volcano has been lowered from Alert Level 3 to alert Level 2, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology announced on Friday.
The OCD said more than 50 families staying at evacuation centers for a few months will return to their communities.
“Among the civil defense’s actions include plans to decamp 52 families or 195 individuals inside an evacuation center funded by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council at Camalig town as early as this Friday,” the OCD said in a statement.
“The agency is coordinating with local officials in Camalig regarding this,” it added.
The evacuees live in areas under the six-kilometer-radius Permanent Danger Zone of the volcano.
In a related development, the OCD said it is now under blue alert status, which means that half of its manpower is on standby for heightened monitoring of the volcano, which is now under a “moderate level of unrest.”