DESPITE the significant decrease in the volcanic quakes of Mount Kanlaon recorded by the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs), disaster preparations were still discussed by concerned National Government agencies led by the Office of Civil Defense (OCD)-Western Visayas and the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (PDRRMC) Wednesday.
Zeaphard Gerhart Caelian, head of the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Division, said the local government units covered by the Mount Kanlaon hazard zone will submit to the PDRRMC the list of some of their needs.
The national government agencies will fill the gap especially in terms of settlement, food and other relief needs.
Caelian said that despite the lesser volcanic quakes, it is still the Phivolcs that will declare the lowering of the volcano’s alert level.
“At present the volcano is still at Alert Level 2,” he said.
La Castellana Mayor Rhumyla Mangilimutan said the Municipal Government has forged a memorandum of understanding with the schools for the utilization of their covered courts and classrooms as evacuation centers, if needed.
“At this point, residents of the town live normally because they are used to the volcano’s abnormalities,” the mayor said.
She said that after classes were suspended last Friday when the smell of sulfur was noticed, everything has already gone back to normal.