About 1,815 evacuees in La Castellana, Negros Occidental, returned home on Thursday and Friday, June 20 and 21, close to three weeks after Kanlaon Volcano erupted.
They evacuated following the Kanlaon Volcano explosive eruption on June 3 that resulted in its spewing coarse ash fall and sulfurous odors that damaged P84.1 million in crops and fisheries.
The volcano remains under Alert Level 2 or a period of unrest.
There were 190 families with 689 members who returned to Brgy Cabagna-an on Friday, and 179 families with 561 members who returned to Brgy Sag-ang on Thursday, John de Asis, La Castellana Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office head, said Friday.
He said 170 more families with 565 members were also set to return to Brgy Cabagna-an Friday afternoon.
That would leave less than 1,000 evacuees in three evacuation centers in La Castellana. Their going home will depend on the situation at the volcano, de Asis said.
He said about 30 plus families who lived in the four-kilometer danger zone located in barangays Biak na Bato, Masulog and Cabagna-an will not be allowed to go home.
La Castellana Mayor Rhummyla Mangilimutan has sought the help of the national government for the permanent relocation of the danger zone residents.*