NOTHING’S wrong with being prepared, or overly prepared, especially in the disaster.
Kudos to the Provincial Government of Negros Occidental for not letting its guard down especially when it comes to risk reduction and disaster preparedness.
With the threat brought by Mount Kanlaon, the Capitol continues to update and review its contingency plan as to be ready for any eventuality.
The active volcano, which straddles the provinces of Negros Occidental and Negros Oriental, remained on Alert Level 2, or at a moderate level of unrest.
Zeaphard Gerhart Caelian, head of Negros Occidental Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Division, said the provincial government and other concerned agencies are preparing for the possibility of an Alert Level 3, as he called on various stakeholders to also be prepared.
There’s no cause for alarm, but it’s always better to be safe than sorry.
The Capitol stressed that the affected localities should be ready for the “worst case scenario” should Kanlaon erupts.
Various scenarios have already been identified should the alert level of Kanlaon will be raised, as part of the preparations.
Alert Level 3 will affect 14 villages in five local government units (LGUs) namely Bago City, La Castellana, La Carlota, San Carlos, and Murcia.
The Capitol has identified 22,251 households, or 99,025 individuals, who will be affected by the eruption.
For the worst case scenario, an estimated of 2,443 households or 10,745 individuals will be affected.
There are nine affected localities that fall under this scenario – eight in Negros Occidental and one in Negros Oriental.
For the province, these are Bago, La Castellana, La Carlota, San Carlos, Murcia, Moises Padilla, San Enrique and Pontevedra and Canlaon City in neighboring province.
For now, let’s pray that Kanlaon stays still. But of course, we just have to be ready.