Agri damage in Sorsogon reaches P4M due to Bulusan eruption

QUIET NOW Mount Bulusan in Sorsogon, shown here on May 1, is a picture of quiet and calm following two days of phreatic eruptions on April 28 and April 29 that blanketed eight towns in ash. —SORSOGON PROVINCIAL INFORMATION OFFICE

LEGAZPI CITY—The recent eruption of Bulusan Volcano has caused extensive damage to agriculture in Sorsogon province, affecting over 1,500 hectares of farms and resulting in nearly P4 million in losses in coconut and other crops, according to the Department of Agriculture (DA) Bicol.

Based on assessments conducted on Wednesday, the eruption destroyed 1,518 ha of coconut farms and caused significant damage to 25 ha of high-value crops (fruits and vegetables), and 15 ha of abaca and cassava plantations.

“The total estimated losses stand at P3.96 million, leaving many farmers grappling with the impact of the eruption,” said Lovella Guarin, DA Bicol information officer, in a private message to the Inquirer on Saturday.

She added that to assist the 173 affected farmers, DA Bicol has mobilized resources, including agricultural equipment such as combine harvesters, to help salvage crops.

Meanwhile, the Sorsogon Dairy Production and Technology Center has been converted into an evacuation site for livestock protection, Guarin added.

Guarin also said the DA Bicol has been helping the affected farmers to claim indemnification from Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation (PCIC) since all farms listed with Registry System for Basic Sectors in Agriculture (RSBSA) were encouraged to avail of free insurance coverage from PCIC before every planting season.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) has raised Alert Level 1 (low level of volcanic unrest) over Mount Bulusan after its phreatic eruption on April 28, blanketing several nearby areas in thick ashfall.

Low level unrest

More than 200 residents were evacuated from several villages in Juban town when ash from the volcano covered houses and buildings.

Bulusan had another phreatic eruption on April 29, triggering ashfall in eight municipalities, with Irosin town declared as highly affected.

Mount Bulusan, one of the country’s active volcanoes straddling several towns in Sorsogon, is located some 70 kilometers southeast of Mount Mayon, another active volcano located in Albay. The two provinces are both in the Bicol region.