ILOILO City – Task Force Kanlaon is implementing a mandatory evacuation for all residents within the 6-kilometer Expanded Danger Zone (EDZ) of Mount Kanlaon in Negros Island following its escalation to Alert Level 3.
As of 10 a.m. on Sunday, December 15, 81% of the targeted evacuees had been relocated to designated evacuation centers.
The task force, headed by Office of Civil Defense (OCD) Region 6 director Raul Fernandez, aims to achieve full evacuation by today, December 16.
“Mandatory evacuation is underway. We urge everyone in these areas to cooperate fully with authorities. Your safety is our top priority,” the OCD Region 6 stated in a release on Saturday, December 14.
According to OCD-6 spokesperson Maria Cristina Mayor, the mandatory evacuation began on December 9, following the raising of the volcano’s status to Alert Level 3. However, some residents, particularly in San Carlos City in Negros Occidental and Canlaon City in Negros Oriental were initially reluctant to evacuate. They only complied after the task force set a deadline for 100% evacuation by December 16.
As of 10 a.m. on December 15, the evacuees in Negros Occidental included the following:
* Bago City – 111 families (382 individuals)
* La Carlota City – 695 families (2,465 individuals)
* La Castellana – 2,564 families (8,188 individuals)
In Negros Oriental, the evacuees were from Canlaon City – 1,277 families or 3,772 individuals.
In total, 4,605 families or 14,807 individuals (80.96% of the target) have been evacuated.
Evacuation centers are providing temporary shelter, with the local government units (LGUs), the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), and other national agencies supplying food and basic necessities.
Mayor clarified that residents’ livestock are also being accounted for, though pigs and other animals cannot stay in the evacuation centers.
A “window period” has been designated to allow family members to feed their animals.
To regulate movement, Fernandez issued a memorandum on December 14 outlining entry and exit protocols for internally displaced persons (IDPs) engaged in essential activities within the EDZ.
Entry and exit are allowed only from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m., and IDPs must present valid IDs for validation.
LGUs and law enforcement agencies are tasked with border control enforcement and emergency pick-up point designation.
Mount Kanlaon’s Alert Level 3 status signals magmatic unrest, increasing the likelihood of sudden and stronger explosive eruptions.
Communities within the 6-kilometer radius face life-threatening hazards, including pyroclastic density currents (PDCs), ashfall, lava flows, and rockfalls.
Civil aviation authorities have been advised to warn pilots against flying near the summit due to potential ash plumes.
LGUs and Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Councils have also been instructed to prepare for further evacuations if volcanic activity escalates.
Local authorities continue to monitor weather conditions to prevent lahars or sediment-laden flows triggered by heavy rains on the volcano’s southern slopes./PN
