Residents urged to heed gov’t advisories after Mt. Bulusan eruption
By Jane Eleda, Jester Manalastas, PNA
SENATE President Francis Escudero on Monday called on residents near Mt. Bulusan to stay alert and heed government advisories after the volcano’s phreatic eruption earlier in the day.
Following the eruption, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) raised the Alert Level over Mt. Bulusan from zero (normal) to one (low-level unrest).
“Phivolcs is now raising the alert status of Bulusan from Alert Level 0 to Alert Level 1, which means that the volcano is currently in a state of low-level unrest with chances of phreatic eruptions succeeding this morning’s event,” the institute said in the same advisory.
“Ang natalang phreatic eruption, o ang pagsabog ng bulkan na may kaakibat ng pagbuga ng usok, kaninang umaga ay senyales para sa lahat ng Sorsoganon, lalo na sa mga nakatira na malapit sa bulkan, na maging mapagmatyag at sumunod sa anumang direktiba mula sa ating pamahalaang lokal kaugnay ng pag-aalburuto ng Bulkang Bulusan,” Escudero said in a statement.
He assured that the provincial government, in coordination with the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, the Office of Civil Defense under the Department of National Defense, and the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), is ensuring the safety of residents and the immediate delivery of assistance to affected families.
“Ating tinitiyak sa ating mga kababayan na handa na po ang mga evacuation center gayun rin ang ating mga disaster relief personnel upang agarang mag-asiste sa kanilang pangangailangan kung sakaling patuloy ang mga aktibidad ng bulkan,” he added.
Escudero also offered prayers for the volcanic activity to subside.
DSWD ORDERS RELEASE OF 20,000 FOOD PACKS
Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Rex Gatchalian has ordered the immediate release of 20,000 family food packs to Sorsogon to help the province amid Mt. Bulusan’s eruption on Monday.
Sorsogon Gov. Jose Edwin Hamor expressed gratitude to Gatchalian for immediately reaching out to his office in the wake of the eruption and taking swift action on the province’s request for resource augmentation.
The DSWD’s Field Office 5 – Bicol Region is also set to deploy its mobile command center (MCC) and mobile kitchen in areas most-affected by the eruption of Mt. Bulusan.
The MCC, manned by an MCC deployment team, will ensure continuous and timely communications support, particularly on the ongoing monitoring of the status of the affected families.
The MCC, which is equipped with state-of-the-art satellite internet, gadgets, and a generator, is being used not just as a stable source of power supply and internet connection for disaster responders, but also for disaster-affected communities.
RD Laurio said the DSWD’s newly-acquired mobile kitchen will be deployed to help with the food provision for affected families, particularly those who will be advised to evacuate.
