Gov’t evacuating 87,000 people affected by Kanlaon eruption – OCD

MANILA, Philippines — The evacuation of around 87,000 individuals affected by eruption of Kanlaon Volcano in Negros Island is now underway, the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) said on Monday.

“As the threat of eruption from Kanlaon Volcano intensifies, an urgent evacuation operation is underway,” the OCD said in a statement.

READ: Kanlaon Volcano erupts; alert level 3 up

OCD said of the 87,000, most or around 46,900 individuals live in La Castellana town in Negros Occidental inside the four to six kilometer danger zone.

A “staging area” has been established in front of the La Castellana municipal hall, and schools with suspended classes will be utilized as evacuation centers, according to OCD.

In a worst case scenario situation, authorities noted that Panned Stadium in Bacolod City could become the primary evacuation center.

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The stadium has a capacity to accommodate up to 30,000 evacuees.

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Meanwhile, in Negros Oriental, 50 families have been evacuated to Española Memorial School, while ongoing forced evacuations are affecting around 1,800 families and 5,000 individuals across five villages within a six-kilometer danger zone.

Kanlaon Volcano erupted on Monday afternoon, prompting the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) to raise the alert level to 3, which indicates magmatic unrest.

Mt. Kanlaon, which covers 24,557.60 hectares of land area with rain forests and verdant vegetation, last erupted on June 3 and has since been in a state of unrest.