Three Negros Island cities not affected by Mt. Kanlaon’s eruption have signed up to take in evacuees whose numbers will increase if the volcano’s danger zone is expanded from 6 to 10 kilometers.
Himamaylan City and Kabankalan City are preparing to accommodate evacuees from La Castellana if Kanlaon’s alert level is raised to four, Raul Fernandez, Office of Civil Defense Western Visayas director and Task Force Kanlaon chairperson, said on Friday, Dec. 20.
A worst-case scenario would mean 20,000 more evacuees from La Castellana, he said.
Himamaylan is nearer to La Castellana than the Panaad Sports Complex in Bacolod, which has also been identified as an evacuation site, he said.
“We are doing preparatory work for a possible expansion of the Kanlaon danger zone from six to ten kilometers that would mean an increase in the number of evacuees”, Fernandez said.
The mud flow Barangay Cabacungan, La Castellana, on Friday.*Romeo Subaldo photos
Even if it doesn’t rain there is still mud flow from Kanlaon Volcano’s ash and debris in the river at Barangay Cabacungan, La Castellana in Negros Occidental.
It is where irrigation water is sourced from, which has been diverted back to the river so it does no directly hit nearby crops.
If Alert Level 4 is raised and the danger zone in expanded to 10 kilometers thousands of Cabacungan residents will be evacuated to Kabankalan City, its barangay captain Marvin Palmares Escander said.
Meanwhile, Moises Padilla Mayor Ella Celestina Garcia Yulo signed a Memorandum of Agreement with the city of Guihulngan represented by Mayor Filomeno Reyes.
The MOA states that Guihulngan will take in evacuees from Moises Padilla if Kanlaon Volcano erupts.
In the event that Mt. Kanlaon Volcano reaches Alert Level 4 forced evacuation will be carried out in an orderly and safe manner in La Carlota City, Mayor Rex Jalandoon said.
The local government is fully prepared and will ensure that residents are promptly relocated to their designated adoptive barangays for their safety and well-being, he said.*