(Photo courtesy of DSWD-5)
LEGAZPI CITY — The Department of Social Welfare and Development in Bicol (DSWD-5) continues to provide relief assistance to 525 families, or 1,729 individuals, displaced by the ongoing volcanic unrest at Mayon Volcano in Albay.
DSWD Bicol Disaster Response and Management Division chief Claudio Villareal said Monday, November 2, that 517 families, comprising 1,714 individuals, remain in 11 evacuation centers, while eight families, or 15 individuals, are temporarily staying with relatives.
“Since Oct. 30, DSWD Bicol has provided assistance worth PHP3.47 million,” Villareal told the Philippine News Agency.
The assistance includes 768 drinking-water supplies, 3,815 family food packs (FFPs) and 768 ready-to-eat food (RTEF) packs distributed to affected communities.
The agency also provided eight information boards, eight signages and eight gender-based violence referral pathways to help strengthen information dissemination and protection services in evacuation centers.
In Tabaco City, DSWD Bicol distributed one ready-to-eat food pack and 6.6 liters of bottled water each to 152 displaced families staying in four evacuation centers in Barangays Buang, Buhian, Mariroc and San Antonio.
An additional 220 family food packs were delivered to four evacuation centers accommodating residents from Barangays Magapo, Buang, Mariroc (Nagsipit), Oson and Buhian.
In Camalig town, the agency distributed 167 family food packs to displaced residents staying at Tagaytay Elementary School and the Camalig Bungkaras Evacuation Center.
Meanwhile, in Malilipot, DSWD Bicol provided 404 ready-to-eat food packs, 6.6 liters of distilled water and 91 family food packs to families from Barangays San Roque and Calbayog.
Villareal said the agency has placed its Emergency Operations Center under Red Alert status and activated its Quick Response Teams to strengthen monitoring, coordination and relief distribution.
“The agency also maintained coordination with local government units and response partners to ensure the timely delivery of assistance and protection of affected families,” he said.
The continuing evacuation and relief operations follow the increase in Mayon Volcano’s alert status to Alert Level 3, indicating an increased tendency toward a hazardous eruption.
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) raised the alert level after the volcano recorded a moderately explosive eruption on Friday, October 30.
Under Alert Level 3, Phivolcs warned of an increased possibility of lava flows and hazardous pyroclastic density currents, which could affect the volcano’s upper and middle slopes.
Authorities continue to monitor Mayon’s activity while coordinating evacuation and relief operations to protect residents in communities exposed to volcanic hazards.
DSWD Bicol said it would sustain humanitarian assistance and coordination with local governments and response agencies as volcanic unrest continues.
