Mayon evacuees move to ‘tent city’
LEGAZPI CITY—About 400 families evacuated from the town of Malilipot in Albay due to the ongoing unrest of Mayon Volcano have been transferred to a “tent city,” the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Bicol said on Tuesday.
DSWD Bicol Director Norman Laurio told the Inquirer in a phone interview that the evacuees were moved to the temporary shelter in Barangay San Jose on Monday after essential facilities, including electricity, comfort rooms, and a dirty kitchen, were fully set up.
Each family occupies a tent equipped with beds to ensure privacy and ease congestion in evacuation centers.
“We want the evacuees to have privacy and, of course, to address congestion issues and ensure the proper provision of food and other necessities, which is our major concern,” Laurio said.
According to him, the transfer also aims to avoid disrupting classes.
“We also do not want to disturb students and the flow of classes in schools that have been used as evacuation centers for more than three weeks since alert level 3 was raised,” Laurio said.
Regular visits
He added: “From time to time, we visit them to personally check and assess their condition.”
Mobile kitchens have also been deployed at the evacuation centers to feed evacuees in various locations, Laurio said.
Meanwhile, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology reported that Mayon Volcano logged 272 volcanic earthquakes, 155 rockfall events, and 44 pyroclastic density currents over the past 24 hours, based on its bulletin issued Tuesday.
Sulfur dioxide emissions averaged 1,387 tonnes per day, indicating continued degassing, while lava dome growth and lava flow effusion with episodic minor Strombolian activity were also observed.
