9-6-2023 (MANILA) The provincial government of Albay in the Philippines announced a province-wide state of calamity on Friday, June 9, in response to the increasing activity of Mayon Volcano and its heightened likelihood of eruption.
The declaration, pursuant to Resolution No. 0607-2023 of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan ng Albay, follows the elevation of the volcano’s alert level to Alert Level 3, indicating an increased tendency towards a hazardous eruption, on Thursday, June 8. This move allows local government units to access calamity funds for disaster response operations and emergency measures to mitigate potential disasters.
Furthermore, the declaration enables the province to mobilize all available resources for effective disaster mitigation.
In anticipation of the volcano’s activity, the provincial health office had previously declared a code blue alert, which provides additional health and emergency resources to respond to the impact of Mayon’s volcanic unrest.
To ensure the safety of the residents, the province has already implemented preemptive and mandatory evacuation measures for over 10,000 individuals from approximately 2,640 families residing within the six-kilometer permanent danger zone.
Moreover, an additional 4,415 families are set to be evacuated once the alert level is raised to Alert Level 4.
According to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs), numerous volcanic activities have been recorded from 5:00 a.m. on June 8 to 5:00 a.m. on June 9, including 199 rockfall events and six pyroclastic density currents.
