Thousands in Albay towns at risk from Mayon ash fall

Residents of Camalig cover their mouths and noses to protect themselves from the smell of sulfur and ash spewed by Mount Mayon. (Photo by MICHAEL JAUCIAN / Inquirer Southern Luzon )

CAMALIG, Albay — At least 13,434 residents within the 8-kilometer danger zone are at risk of the effects of the ashfall here after Mayon Volcano, one of the most active volcanos in the country, spewed ash that reached as high as 3 kilometers in its latest phreatic eruption Saturday.

Camalig Disaster Risk Reduction and Management officer Rommel V. Negrete said that evacuations was still ongoing as of 8 p.m. in villages within the 5-kilometer radius of the volcano.

At 5:06 p.m., Mayon Volcano’s phreatic eruption brought ashfall in Camalig. Within minutes, face masks ran out, said some of the pharmacists in drug stores.

MDRRMO distributed at least 5,000 face masks to residents in 20 villages affected by the ash fall.

Mayor Maria Ahrdail Baldo said that they still did not have exact numbers of the evacuees as Barangay Anoling and Barangay Cabagñan were still evacuating as of press time.

She said that the residents would be housed in designated relocation sites.

In Daraga, a town next to Camalig, the police had been put on alert status. ready to help residents once necessary, Chief Insp. Arthur Gomez, spokesperson of the Albay Provincial Police Office, said. /atm