INQUIRER FILES
BACOLOD CITY — The Canlaon City government in Negros Oriental is preparing for the evacuation of all residents should Mt. Kanlaon’s alert level is raised to 4.
According to Canlaon Mayor Jose Chubasco Cardenas, the local government has conducted an orientation on “Plan Exodus” or Exit Operations During Uncertainties Strategy.
In an interview on Dec. 31, Cardenas said residents within 14 kilometers from the volcano would have to be evacuated to neighboring Vallehermoso and Ayungon towns if alert level 4 is declared.
Since the entire Canlaon City is only 11.5 km away from the crater of Mt. Kanlaon, all of its more than 60,000 residents will have to be evacuated, Cardenas said.
“The heart of the city of Canlaon is 10 to 11 km from the volcano’s crater,” he added.
The volcano is currently under alert level 3, which means there is a high level of volcanic unrest, according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs).
If alert level 4 is declared, it means a magmatic process can progress into a highly hazardous eruption, Phivolcs said.
Plan Exodus aims to establish a systematic approach for the transportation of residents affected by Mt. Kanlaon eruption to designated evacuation centers in Vallehermoso town, which is near Canlaon City, ensuring temporary shelter and the provision of services.
A simulation exercise was held on Tuesday afternoon. It was participated by a representative of each of the 10 evacuation camps in Canlaon City that would have to be evacuated.
Data showed that Canlaon City had 5,802 residents in 10 evacuation camps and 2,014 other evacuees outside the camps or those living with friends and relatives as of Dec. 28.
“The evacuees in the evacuation camps will be the first ones to be moved because they are in contained areas,” Cardenas said.
Other residents of the city, he said, would also have identified pick-up points.
According to Phivolcs, Mt. Kanlaon had nine ash emissions, 26 volcanic earthquakes, including nine volcanic tremors, and emitted 7,079 tons of sulfur dioxide from 12 a.m. on Dec. 30 to 12 a.m. on Dec. 31.
The provincial board of Negros Oriental on Dec. 27 placed the entire province under a state of calamity following the Dec. 9 eruption of Mt. Kanlaon.
The calamity status would enable the provincial government to use its quick response fund to address the needs of the evacuees in Negros Oriental.