Saturday, December 26, 2009
Mayon evacuees keep alive spirit of Christmas
By Rey M. Nasol, Ephraim Aguilar, Inquirer Southern Luzon, and Alcuin Papa in Manila
Philippine Daily Inquirer
INQUIRER.net
LEGAZPI CITY--In the shadow of a rumbling volcano, they shared a noche buena (midnight repast) of donated noodles, fish and fruits, opened presents and laughed at clowns.
Even in times of adversity, many among the 47,000 villagers who have sought shelter in evacuation camps to flee the wrath of Mayon Volcano in Albay province tried to keep the Christmas spirit alive.
But fear of the deadly mountain is never far away. Its booming sounds could be heard even in this city, 15 kilometers away.
Five days after raising to 4 the alert level around Mayon and declaring that a hazardous eruption was imminent, volcanologists yesterday warned that Mayon was erupting with more force—hurling lava higher into the sky—and that the danger of a big blast was not over.
“The flow of lava is continuing. The tremors are continuing. So the notion that a big bang is no longer going to happen doesn’t hold. It’s clear the activity has been sustained with more force,” Director Renato Solidum of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) told the Inquirer.
Christmas is for children
Solidum said the relatively lower number of earthquakes coming from the volcano the past few days should not be misconstrued as a waning of its fury.
But children in the evacuation camps seemed oblivious of the dangers and didn’t seem to mind that their world had become smaller.
If the 21 children in Room 29 at Albay Central School sounded excited on Christmas Eve, it was because they were celebrating a bigger noche buena than they were used to.
While their parents were preparing for a potluck feast, the children cavorted around as any other kids would do during holidays.
Ten-year-old Erah Mae Abellana of Barangay Matanag said she was happy even if their family had to spend Christmas away from their home.
“I am happy because we have many playmates here and we also received food rations,” Erah said in Bicol.
She said the only thing she and her friends had not been able to do was sing carols in their neighborhood.
Thankful they are safe
Mother-of-two Cris Arquero, 28, was busy cooking spaghetti on a charcoal stove. Hours earlier, a politician had come visiting and given away noche buena packages.
“Just a little get-together meal for us this Christmas,” Arquero said.
Other mothers planned games for children.
Arquero said that although this Christmas was unusual for them, it was not a reason to be unhappy.
“We could only be thankful that we are safe. What is important is that we still could all be together,” she said.
She added the calamity had also given her a chance to teach good values to her 5-year-old daughter.
“Here, she learns how to live harmoniously with other people. She also learns the value of sharing our blessings, no matter how little we have,” Arquero said.
Santas and clowns
Milagros Aydalla, 48, was glad she had something for noche buena, although it was “not as happy as our Christmas last year.”
On Thursday night, Masses were celebrated in the centers. Evacuees received gifts or were entertained by soldiers in Santa hats who belted out songs.
Still the mood at times was subdued, with many evacuees opting to sleep before midnight.
“We have to give them Christmas Eve midnight meal so at least while in the evacuation center, they can also feel the Christmas celebration,” said Legazpi Mayor Noel Rosal.
Gov. Joey Salceda distributed P100 bills to children to be spent any way they wanted.
‘They are stubborn’
The celebration continued Friday, with a clown’s magic tricks and parlor games bringing laughter to the children in one elementary school that has been turned into a temporary shelter.
Still, despite the dangers posed by Mayon, many families chose to stay in their homes near the volcano, spending their Christmas Eve in areas that had already been declared a no man’s land.
In a neighborhood in Barangay Matanag, children played in the streets while a karaoke machine rocked with music. A baby on a crib was on a doorstep while sari-sari stores were in business as usual.
Soldiers said they had never stopped warning villagers to flee.
“But they are stubborn. They would tell us they knew the volcano better than us,” Army Pfc. Rennel Madla said.
Higher lava fountains
Mayon’s explosions continued yesterday, showing “more force in terms of lava fountaining,” Solidum said.
The fountains of lava, which had risen as high as 500 meters above the summit before, yesterday soared to a height of one kilometer, he said.
Ash explosions got stronger, too, reaching a maximum height of two kilometers.
Solidum said rock falls were also occurring. Rock falls are caused by the detachment of lava fragments from the summit and the upper slopes of the volcano.
These rock falls can generate dangerous pyroclastic flows, or flows of volcanic ash, dust, rocks and debris that rush down the slopes at speeds of 100 km per hour, with temperatures of up to 420 degrees Celsius, Solidum said.
Health risks
Solidum also warned against health hazards from ashfall on the southwest side of the volcano. He said the white ash blown into residential areas could cause respiratory ailments.
Sulfur dioxide emission rate was still high at 2,738 tons per day.
Active river channels and those identified as lahar prone in the southern sector should be avoided, especially when there is prolonged rainfall, Phivolcs said.
Dangerous lull
Solidum told reporters that Mayon’s sustained high level unrest had eliminated the possibility of a series of quiet eruptions such those that occurred in 2006, which were largely harmless to residents.
“Rumbling and booming sounds are now audible even as far as the city proper of Legazpi, which is 15 kilometers away from the crater,” Solidum said.
Resident volcanologist Eduardo Laguerta said the volume of lava deposits on the slopes had exceeded the Phivolcs estimate of 20 million cubic meters.
He recalled that Mayon showed similar activities prior to its violent eruption in 1984, which was preceded by a four-day lull.
At the time, people thought the volcano had quieted down, only for them to be awakened and sent scampering by a big blast at dawn.
At least 125 rumbling and booming sounds from the volcano were heard at the Lignon Hill Observatory and in Legazpi during a 24-hour monitoring period ending yesterday, Phivolcs said.
Seismic activity remained high, with instruments recording a total of 871 volcanic earthquakes.
Forced evacuation
Forcible evacuation continued in villages within the danger zones. Soldiers sealed entry points, allowing only the exit of people.
Salceda supervised the distribution of cash gifts (P100 per child) in all evacuation centers.
“Instead of giving the children things (in kind) it is wiser to give them the equivalent so that they have money in their pockets which they may use to buy their gift of choice, be it food or toys,” he said.
With reports from AP and AFP
Philippine Daily Inquirer
INQUIRER.net
LEGAZPI CITY--In the shadow of a rumbling volcano, they shared a noche buena (midnight repast) of donated noodles, fish and fruits, opened presents and laughed at clowns.
Even in times of adversity, many among the 47,000 villagers who have sought shelter in evacuation camps to flee the wrath of Mayon Volcano in Albay province tried to keep the Christmas spirit alive.
But fear of the deadly mountain is never far away. Its booming sounds could be heard even in this city, 15 kilometers away.
Five days after raising to 4 the alert level around Mayon and declaring that a hazardous eruption was imminent, volcanologists yesterday warned that Mayon was erupting with more force—hurling lava higher into the sky—and that the danger of a big blast was not over.
“The flow of lava is continuing. The tremors are continuing. So the notion that a big bang is no longer going to happen doesn’t hold. It’s clear the activity has been sustained with more force,” Director Renato Solidum of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) told the Inquirer.
Christmas is for children
Solidum said the relatively lower number of earthquakes coming from the volcano the past few days should not be misconstrued as a waning of its fury.
But children in the evacuation camps seemed oblivious of the dangers and didn’t seem to mind that their world had become smaller.
If the 21 children in Room 29 at Albay Central School sounded excited on Christmas Eve, it was because they were celebrating a bigger noche buena than they were used to.
While their parents were preparing for a potluck feast, the children cavorted around as any other kids would do during holidays.
Ten-year-old Erah Mae Abellana of Barangay Matanag said she was happy even if their family had to spend Christmas away from their home.
“I am happy because we have many playmates here and we also received food rations,” Erah said in Bicol.
She said the only thing she and her friends had not been able to do was sing carols in their neighborhood.
Thankful they are safe
Mother-of-two Cris Arquero, 28, was busy cooking spaghetti on a charcoal stove. Hours earlier, a politician had come visiting and given away noche buena packages.
“Just a little get-together meal for us this Christmas,” Arquero said.
Other mothers planned games for children.
Arquero said that although this Christmas was unusual for them, it was not a reason to be unhappy.
“We could only be thankful that we are safe. What is important is that we still could all be together,” she said.
She added the calamity had also given her a chance to teach good values to her 5-year-old daughter.
“Here, she learns how to live harmoniously with other people. She also learns the value of sharing our blessings, no matter how little we have,” Arquero said.
Santas and clowns
Milagros Aydalla, 48, was glad she had something for noche buena, although it was “not as happy as our Christmas last year.”
On Thursday night, Masses were celebrated in the centers. Evacuees received gifts or were entertained by soldiers in Santa hats who belted out songs.
Still the mood at times was subdued, with many evacuees opting to sleep before midnight.
“We have to give them Christmas Eve midnight meal so at least while in the evacuation center, they can also feel the Christmas celebration,” said Legazpi Mayor Noel Rosal.
Gov. Joey Salceda distributed P100 bills to children to be spent any way they wanted.
‘They are stubborn’
The celebration continued Friday, with a clown’s magic tricks and parlor games bringing laughter to the children in one elementary school that has been turned into a temporary shelter.
Still, despite the dangers posed by Mayon, many families chose to stay in their homes near the volcano, spending their Christmas Eve in areas that had already been declared a no man’s land.
In a neighborhood in Barangay Matanag, children played in the streets while a karaoke machine rocked with music. A baby on a crib was on a doorstep while sari-sari stores were in business as usual.
Soldiers said they had never stopped warning villagers to flee.
“But they are stubborn. They would tell us they knew the volcano better than us,” Army Pfc. Rennel Madla said.
Higher lava fountains
Mayon’s explosions continued yesterday, showing “more force in terms of lava fountaining,” Solidum said.
The fountains of lava, which had risen as high as 500 meters above the summit before, yesterday soared to a height of one kilometer, he said.
Ash explosions got stronger, too, reaching a maximum height of two kilometers.
Solidum said rock falls were also occurring. Rock falls are caused by the detachment of lava fragments from the summit and the upper slopes of the volcano.
These rock falls can generate dangerous pyroclastic flows, or flows of volcanic ash, dust, rocks and debris that rush down the slopes at speeds of 100 km per hour, with temperatures of up to 420 degrees Celsius, Solidum said.
Health risks
Solidum also warned against health hazards from ashfall on the southwest side of the volcano. He said the white ash blown into residential areas could cause respiratory ailments.
Sulfur dioxide emission rate was still high at 2,738 tons per day.
Active river channels and those identified as lahar prone in the southern sector should be avoided, especially when there is prolonged rainfall, Phivolcs said.
Dangerous lull
Solidum told reporters that Mayon’s sustained high level unrest had eliminated the possibility of a series of quiet eruptions such those that occurred in 2006, which were largely harmless to residents.
“Rumbling and booming sounds are now audible even as far as the city proper of Legazpi, which is 15 kilometers away from the crater,” Solidum said.
Resident volcanologist Eduardo Laguerta said the volume of lava deposits on the slopes had exceeded the Phivolcs estimate of 20 million cubic meters.
He recalled that Mayon showed similar activities prior to its violent eruption in 1984, which was preceded by a four-day lull.
At the time, people thought the volcano had quieted down, only for them to be awakened and sent scampering by a big blast at dawn.
At least 125 rumbling and booming sounds from the volcano were heard at the Lignon Hill Observatory and in Legazpi during a 24-hour monitoring period ending yesterday, Phivolcs said.
Seismic activity remained high, with instruments recording a total of 871 volcanic earthquakes.
Forced evacuation
Forcible evacuation continued in villages within the danger zones. Soldiers sealed entry points, allowing only the exit of people.
Salceda supervised the distribution of cash gifts (P100 per child) in all evacuation centers.
“Instead of giving the children things (in kind) it is wiser to give them the equivalent so that they have money in their pockets which they may use to buy their gift of choice, be it food or toys,” he said.
With reports from AP and AFP
Friday, December 25, 2009
No rescue for Mayon holdouts, gov warns
By Rey M. Nasol and Ephraim Aguilar
Inquirer Southern Luzon and Alcuin Papa in Manila
LEGAZPI CITY—ALBAY OFFIcials yesterday warned villagers that no one would come to help them if they refused to evacuate and Mayon Volcano erupted violently, but the holdouts said they preferred to spend Christmas in their homes than in government centers.
Gov. Joey Salceda issued the warning as troops launched a hunt for the hard-headed ones amid threats of a major eruption by the most active Philippine volcano.
“If you are there, you die there. There is no way of rescuing people (if) rescuers would also be killed,” Salceda said in a press briefing.
In a yet another frightening display of its power, Mayon boomed 124 times over a 24-hour period, while belching out ash columns towering 2 kilometers over its summit, higher than its previous ejections.
But hundreds of villagers still ignored appeals for them to evacuate.
“After field validation, 179 more families are still within the danger zones. This excludes those who have returned without our knowledge,” said Salceda, chair of the Provincial Disaster Coordinating Council (PDCC).
Officials recalled that 77 farmers and thousands of animals were scorched to death by scalding volcanic materials in Bonga, Buyuan and Mabinit villages in this city during a series of Mayon eruptions from February to April in 1993.
Taking chances
Despite President Macapagal-Arroyo’s order of forced evacuation, some residents within the 8-km extended danger zone would rather take their chances than leave their possessions and animals behind.
“We have lived here for a long time, we know the volcano. We’d rather spend Christmas here than in the crowded evacuation centers,” said Cris Mendioro, 34, of Barangay Matanag.
Mendioro, whose house is just a few meters from an Army checkpoint, said he and the others had packed their belongings and were ready to leave should a major eruption come.
Volcanologists have placed Mayon—which began spewing ash and lava on Dec. 14—under alert level 4, meaning a hazardous blast could occur within hours or days. The highest alert, level 5, means a major eruption is under way.
Wailing of dogs
Aside from Mayon’s productive soil, cattle, crops, and attachment to pets—like dogs—impel villagers to risk their lives and hang on in their residences, instead of living in evacuation sites.
“We are already listed at the evacuation center but heads of families, like me, come back to feed the pigs and pets,” Arnulfo Marcellana, 43, of Barangay Mabinit, told the Inquirer yesterday morning during the forced evacuation.
“The dogs are pitiful to hear every time we return here. They wail in hunger. If only they will assure us that they will feed our animals, things would be much easier for us,” the father of three added.
On one of his returns, Marcellana decided to just untie his 4-month-old pig so it could look for its own food.
“I just hope it is still there when we are allowed to come back,” he said. “Imagine if their cries are heard at the evacuation center. We would wonder if our pets and animals were having anything to eat.”
Marcellana said the thought kept haunting him and his family now that they were heeding warnings not to return home just yet.
‘I am used to this’
Luis Esquivel, also of Mabini and a relative of some of the farmers killed in the 1993 eruption, said that although he kept coming back to his village, he could not sleep.
He said he was always on the alert, closely watching Mayon’s crater while he tended his crops.
“I have my motorcycle always with me for a quick escape,” Esquivel said. “I am used to this. I have experienced these things six times in my life since childhood.”
He added: “What we are afraid of is the ‘uson’ (pyroclastic flows), which killed farmers here.”
Forced evacuation
In Barangay Bonga, 8 km from the crater, hundreds of people still roamed the streets as if nothing was happening with the volcano.
“Barangay Bonga will be our next target for the forced evacuation simultaneously with other areas in the northern and eastern side of Mayon,” said Capt. Razaleigh G. Bansawan, 901st Infantry Brigade and Task Force Mayon spokesperson.
Mila Atun, 45, a mother of 6, said she came back not only to get firewood and kitchen utensils but also to fetch Mariel Alaurin, an 8-year-old neighbor left behind by her parents, who are now at an evacuation center.
Alaurin, in tears, said her father was working in the rice field when he was taken to the evacuation center. She was left alone at home.
Atun said: “We have gotten used to this kind of situation—evacuating even if we are safe here.”
No entry
As early as 5 a.m. yesterday, Task Force Mayon, the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) and local government units began implementing Ms Arroyo’s evacuation order.
“A platoon of soldiers from the task force and CHR-Bicol and three military vehicles were sent to the villages within the 6-8-kilometer danger zones to enforce the directive,” Bansawan said.
“As soon as the mission is completed 100 percent, all roads to the restricted areas will be sealed off,” Bansawan said.
No exceptions
Col. Marlou Salazar, commanding officer of the 901st Brigade, briefed the enforcers on the rights of the people and the troops’ responsibilities after everyone had been taken out of the danger zones.
“They will have to patrol the area against thieves because the residents have left some of their belongings, some animals, like pigs, and their pets,” Salazar said.
“Forcible evacuation has been ordered, no more exceptions and operations have commenced,” Salceda said.
He added: “We have patiently explored and employed all means, all ways, just to get the 10,000 families out of danger. We could have completed the task in one day, instead of nine days, but did not due to the 179 families still out there, excluding those who have returned without letting us know.”
He said dogs would also be evacuated, as well as cattle, carabaos, pigs and pets.
New phase
Harmonic tremors from within the volcano have been replaced by more frequent explosions.
Volcanologist Alex Baloloy said these changes, noted since 4 p.m. Wednesday, might indicate a new phase in the volcano’s activity.
Lava fountains reaching a peak height of 500 meters were seen at least four times.
But even if the number of volcanic earthquakes have dropped to 815 from Tuesday’s 1,051 and the sulfur dioxide emission rate have fallen to 5,737 tons a day from 6,737 tons, Baloloy said a hazardous blast was still possible.
“These figures are still very high. There is no lull in Mayon’s volcanic activity,” the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) scientist said.
Many of Wednesday’s ash explosions were not visible as Mayon was mostly covered with clouds but 124 booms were heard.
Lava at plantations
Lava continued to flow down, reaching flat areas along the Bonga-Buyuan, Miisi, and Lidong channels—all in the volcano’s southeast sector covering this city and the towns of Sto. Domingo and Daraga.
Baloloy said the lava front could have already reached coconut and vegetable plantations, but it was expected to travel more slowly henceforth, having hit flat areas.
In Manila, Phivolcs Director Renato Solidum said the decreased number of earthquakes was not a sign that Mayon would quiet down.
“It is the tremors that is more significant. Tremors and the rumbling sounds are longer and more vital... To say the volcano is on its way to quieting down based on the number of recorded earthquakes would be misleading,” Solidum told the Inquirer.
He said volcanic earthquakes, tremors and rumblings were not the only basis in considering the activity of a volcano. Other factors, he said, like ash explosions and lava flow, should be considered.
Inquirer Southern Luzon and Alcuin Papa in Manila
LEGAZPI CITY—ALBAY OFFIcials yesterday warned villagers that no one would come to help them if they refused to evacuate and Mayon Volcano erupted violently, but the holdouts said they preferred to spend Christmas in their homes than in government centers.
Gov. Joey Salceda issued the warning as troops launched a hunt for the hard-headed ones amid threats of a major eruption by the most active Philippine volcano.
“If you are there, you die there. There is no way of rescuing people (if) rescuers would also be killed,” Salceda said in a press briefing.
In a yet another frightening display of its power, Mayon boomed 124 times over a 24-hour period, while belching out ash columns towering 2 kilometers over its summit, higher than its previous ejections.
But hundreds of villagers still ignored appeals for them to evacuate.
“After field validation, 179 more families are still within the danger zones. This excludes those who have returned without our knowledge,” said Salceda, chair of the Provincial Disaster Coordinating Council (PDCC).
Officials recalled that 77 farmers and thousands of animals were scorched to death by scalding volcanic materials in Bonga, Buyuan and Mabinit villages in this city during a series of Mayon eruptions from February to April in 1993.
Taking chances
Despite President Macapagal-Arroyo’s order of forced evacuation, some residents within the 8-km extended danger zone would rather take their chances than leave their possessions and animals behind.
“We have lived here for a long time, we know the volcano. We’d rather spend Christmas here than in the crowded evacuation centers,” said Cris Mendioro, 34, of Barangay Matanag.
Mendioro, whose house is just a few meters from an Army checkpoint, said he and the others had packed their belongings and were ready to leave should a major eruption come.
Volcanologists have placed Mayon—which began spewing ash and lava on Dec. 14—under alert level 4, meaning a hazardous blast could occur within hours or days. The highest alert, level 5, means a major eruption is under way.
Wailing of dogs
Aside from Mayon’s productive soil, cattle, crops, and attachment to pets—like dogs—impel villagers to risk their lives and hang on in their residences, instead of living in evacuation sites.
“We are already listed at the evacuation center but heads of families, like me, come back to feed the pigs and pets,” Arnulfo Marcellana, 43, of Barangay Mabinit, told the Inquirer yesterday morning during the forced evacuation.
“The dogs are pitiful to hear every time we return here. They wail in hunger. If only they will assure us that they will feed our animals, things would be much easier for us,” the father of three added.
On one of his returns, Marcellana decided to just untie his 4-month-old pig so it could look for its own food.
“I just hope it is still there when we are allowed to come back,” he said. “Imagine if their cries are heard at the evacuation center. We would wonder if our pets and animals were having anything to eat.”
Marcellana said the thought kept haunting him and his family now that they were heeding warnings not to return home just yet.
‘I am used to this’
Luis Esquivel, also of Mabini and a relative of some of the farmers killed in the 1993 eruption, said that although he kept coming back to his village, he could not sleep.
He said he was always on the alert, closely watching Mayon’s crater while he tended his crops.
“I have my motorcycle always with me for a quick escape,” Esquivel said. “I am used to this. I have experienced these things six times in my life since childhood.”
He added: “What we are afraid of is the ‘uson’ (pyroclastic flows), which killed farmers here.”
Forced evacuation
In Barangay Bonga, 8 km from the crater, hundreds of people still roamed the streets as if nothing was happening with the volcano.
“Barangay Bonga will be our next target for the forced evacuation simultaneously with other areas in the northern and eastern side of Mayon,” said Capt. Razaleigh G. Bansawan, 901st Infantry Brigade and Task Force Mayon spokesperson.
Mila Atun, 45, a mother of 6, said she came back not only to get firewood and kitchen utensils but also to fetch Mariel Alaurin, an 8-year-old neighbor left behind by her parents, who are now at an evacuation center.
Alaurin, in tears, said her father was working in the rice field when he was taken to the evacuation center. She was left alone at home.
Atun said: “We have gotten used to this kind of situation—evacuating even if we are safe here.”
No entry
As early as 5 a.m. yesterday, Task Force Mayon, the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) and local government units began implementing Ms Arroyo’s evacuation order.
“A platoon of soldiers from the task force and CHR-Bicol and three military vehicles were sent to the villages within the 6-8-kilometer danger zones to enforce the directive,” Bansawan said.
“As soon as the mission is completed 100 percent, all roads to the restricted areas will be sealed off,” Bansawan said.
No exceptions
Col. Marlou Salazar, commanding officer of the 901st Brigade, briefed the enforcers on the rights of the people and the troops’ responsibilities after everyone had been taken out of the danger zones.
“They will have to patrol the area against thieves because the residents have left some of their belongings, some animals, like pigs, and their pets,” Salazar said.
“Forcible evacuation has been ordered, no more exceptions and operations have commenced,” Salceda said.
He added: “We have patiently explored and employed all means, all ways, just to get the 10,000 families out of danger. We could have completed the task in one day, instead of nine days, but did not due to the 179 families still out there, excluding those who have returned without letting us know.”
He said dogs would also be evacuated, as well as cattle, carabaos, pigs and pets.
New phase
Harmonic tremors from within the volcano have been replaced by more frequent explosions.
Volcanologist Alex Baloloy said these changes, noted since 4 p.m. Wednesday, might indicate a new phase in the volcano’s activity.
Lava fountains reaching a peak height of 500 meters were seen at least four times.
But even if the number of volcanic earthquakes have dropped to 815 from Tuesday’s 1,051 and the sulfur dioxide emission rate have fallen to 5,737 tons a day from 6,737 tons, Baloloy said a hazardous blast was still possible.
“These figures are still very high. There is no lull in Mayon’s volcanic activity,” the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) scientist said.
Many of Wednesday’s ash explosions were not visible as Mayon was mostly covered with clouds but 124 booms were heard.
Lava at plantations
Lava continued to flow down, reaching flat areas along the Bonga-Buyuan, Miisi, and Lidong channels—all in the volcano’s southeast sector covering this city and the towns of Sto. Domingo and Daraga.
Baloloy said the lava front could have already reached coconut and vegetable plantations, but it was expected to travel more slowly henceforth, having hit flat areas.
In Manila, Phivolcs Director Renato Solidum said the decreased number of earthquakes was not a sign that Mayon would quiet down.
“It is the tremors that is more significant. Tremors and the rumbling sounds are longer and more vital... To say the volcano is on its way to quieting down based on the number of recorded earthquakes would be misleading,” Solidum told the Inquirer.
He said volcanic earthquakes, tremors and rumblings were not the only basis in considering the activity of a volcano. Other factors, he said, like ash explosions and lava flow, should be considered.
Thursday, December 24, 2009
No rescue for bullheaded Mayon residents—Salceda
By Rey M. Nasol, Ephraim Aguilar
Inquirer Southern Luzon
First Posted 18:17:00 12/24/2009
INQUIRER.net
LEGAZPI CITY, Philippines—Albay officials on Thursday warned villagers no one would come to help them if they refused to evacuate and Mayon Volcano erupts violently
But hold-outs—residents who continue to resist government’s evacuation orders—said they preferred to spend Christmas in their homes than in evacuation centers.
Albay Gov. Joey Salceda issued the warning as troops searched villages in danger zones for the hard-headed residents amid threats of a major eruption by the most active volcano in the Philippines.
"If you are there, you die there. There is no way of rescuing people (if) rescuers would also be killed," Salceda said in a press briefing.
In yet another frightening display of its power, Mayon boomed 124 times over a 24-hour period, while belching ash columns towering 1.2 kilometers over its summit, higher than its previous ejections.
But hundreds of villagers still ignored government appeals for them to evacuate.
"After field validation, 179 more families are still within the danger zones. This excludes those who have returned without our knowledge," said Salceda, chair of the Provincial Disaster Coordinating Council.
Officials recalled 77 farmers and thousands of animals were burned to death by volcanic materials in Bonga, Buyuan and Mabinit villages in this city during a series of Mayon eruptions from February to April in 1993.
Despite more frequent explosions and President Macapagal-Arroyo's order for forced evacuation, some residents within the 8-km extended danger zone would rather take their chances than leave their possessions and their animals behind.
"We have lived here for a long time, we know the volcano. We'd rather spend Christmas here than in the crowded evacuation centers," said Cris Mendioro, 34, of Barangay Matanag.
Mendioro, whose house is just a few meters from an Army checkpoint, said he and the others had packed their belongings and were ready to leave should the volcano erupt.
Volcanologists have placed Mayon—which began spewing ash on Dec. 14—under alert level 4, meaning a hazardous blast could occur within hours or days. The highest alert, level 5, means a major eruption is underway.
Aside from Mayon’s productive soil, cattle, crops, attachment to pets, like dogs, drive villagers to risk their lives and stay in their residences instead of living in crowded evacuation sites.
"We are already listed at the evacuation center in Barangay San Roque but heads of families, like me, come back to feed the pigs and pets," Arnulfo Marcellana, 43, of Barangay Mabinit, told the INQUIRER Thursday morning during the forced evacuation.
"The dogs are pitiful to hear every time we return here. They wail in hunger. If only they (disaster officials) will assure us that they will feed our animals, things would be much easier for us," the father of three added.
On one of his returns, Marcellana decided to just untie his 4-month-old pig so that it could look for its own food.
"I just hope it is still there when we are allowed to finally go back," he said. "Imagine if their cries could be heard at the evacuation center, we would wonder if our pets and animals were finding anything to eat."
Marcellana said the thought kept bothering him and his family now that they had decided to heed warnings not to return home just yet.
Luis Esquivel, also of Mabini and a relative of some of the farmers killed in the 1993 eruption, said that although he had kept coming back to his village, he could not sleep.
He said he was always on the alert, closely watching Mayon’s crater while he tended his crops.
"I have my motorcycle always with me for a quick escape," Esquivel said. "I am used to this. I have experienced these things six times in my life since childhood."
He added: "What we are afraid of is the 'uson' (pyroclastic flows), which killed farmers here."
In the adjacent Barangay Bonga, 8 km from Mayon's crater, hundreds of people still roamed the streets as if things were normal.
"Barangay Bonga will be our next target for the forced evacuation simultaneously with other areas in the northern and eastern side of Mayon," said Capt. Razaleigh G. Bansawan, 901st Infantry Brigade and Task Force Mayon spokesperson.
Mila Atun, 45, mother of 6, said she came back to get firewood and kitchen utensils, and also to fetch Mariel Alaurin, an 8-year-old neighbor left behind by her parents, who are now at a evacuation center in Gogon Elementary School.
Alaurin, in tears, said her father was working in the rice field when he was taken to the evacuation center. The girl was left home alone.
Atun said: "We have gotten used to this kind of situation—evacuating even if we are safe here."
A man who refused to give his name said his family was already in the evacuation center and that no one was left, except him, to look after their carabao, cows, goats and crops. He said he still has not decided whether to leave Barangay Bonga.
As early as 5 a.m. Thursday, Task Force Mayon, the Commission on Human Rights and local government units began implementing Ms Arroyo’s order for forced evacuation.
"A platoon of soldiers from the task force and CHR-Bicol and three military vehicles were sent to the villages within the 6-8-kilometer danger zones to enforce the directive," Bansawan said during the conduct of the forced evacuation at Barangay Mabinit here.
Bansawan also said that a team from the Albay Health and Emergency Management was also requested to attend to incapacitated persons that would be found in the area.
The directive was also issued to all the units manning the checkpoints along the 8-km danger zones to strictly enforce the no-entry policy at the areas.
"As soon as the mission is 100 percent completed, all road networks to the restricted areas will be sealed off," Bansawan said.
Col. Marlou Salazar, commanding officer of the 901st Infantry Brigade of the Philippine Army, briefed the enforcing elements on the rights of the people and their remaining responsibilities after all the people have been forcibly taken out of the danger zones.
"They will have to patrol the area against thieves as the residents opted to leave some of their belongings, some animals like pigs and their pets," Salazar said.
"Forcible evacuation has been ordered, no more exceptions and operations have commenced," Salceda said, adding
"We have patiently explored and employed all means, all ways, all sorts just to get the 10,000 families out of danger and keep within CHR guidance. We could have completed the task in one day instead of nine days but did not due to 179 families still out there, excluding those who have returned without letting us know."
He said dogs would be evacuated as well as the villagers' cattle, carabaos, pigs and pets and be given corresponding feeds for free at their designated evacuation centers in the Albay Breeding Station in Camalig, in Barangay Paraputo in Tabaco City, in Mauraro in Guinobatan and in Bogtong, this city as identified by the Provincial Veterinary Services Office.
Salceda added that the Department of Agriculture Bicol regional office had also provided P15 million fund for post-calamity and rehabilitation activities.
Inquirer Southern Luzon
First Posted 18:17:00 12/24/2009
INQUIRER.net
LEGAZPI CITY, Philippines—Albay officials on Thursday warned villagers no one would come to help them if they refused to evacuate and Mayon Volcano erupts violently
But hold-outs—residents who continue to resist government’s evacuation orders—said they preferred to spend Christmas in their homes than in evacuation centers.
Albay Gov. Joey Salceda issued the warning as troops searched villages in danger zones for the hard-headed residents amid threats of a major eruption by the most active volcano in the Philippines.
"If you are there, you die there. There is no way of rescuing people (if) rescuers would also be killed," Salceda said in a press briefing.
In yet another frightening display of its power, Mayon boomed 124 times over a 24-hour period, while belching ash columns towering 1.2 kilometers over its summit, higher than its previous ejections.
But hundreds of villagers still ignored government appeals for them to evacuate.
"After field validation, 179 more families are still within the danger zones. This excludes those who have returned without our knowledge," said Salceda, chair of the Provincial Disaster Coordinating Council.
Officials recalled 77 farmers and thousands of animals were burned to death by volcanic materials in Bonga, Buyuan and Mabinit villages in this city during a series of Mayon eruptions from February to April in 1993.
Despite more frequent explosions and President Macapagal-Arroyo's order for forced evacuation, some residents within the 8-km extended danger zone would rather take their chances than leave their possessions and their animals behind.
"We have lived here for a long time, we know the volcano. We'd rather spend Christmas here than in the crowded evacuation centers," said Cris Mendioro, 34, of Barangay Matanag.
Mendioro, whose house is just a few meters from an Army checkpoint, said he and the others had packed their belongings and were ready to leave should the volcano erupt.
Volcanologists have placed Mayon—which began spewing ash on Dec. 14—under alert level 4, meaning a hazardous blast could occur within hours or days. The highest alert, level 5, means a major eruption is underway.
Aside from Mayon’s productive soil, cattle, crops, attachment to pets, like dogs, drive villagers to risk their lives and stay in their residences instead of living in crowded evacuation sites.
"We are already listed at the evacuation center in Barangay San Roque but heads of families, like me, come back to feed the pigs and pets," Arnulfo Marcellana, 43, of Barangay Mabinit, told the INQUIRER Thursday morning during the forced evacuation.
"The dogs are pitiful to hear every time we return here. They wail in hunger. If only they (disaster officials) will assure us that they will feed our animals, things would be much easier for us," the father of three added.
On one of his returns, Marcellana decided to just untie his 4-month-old pig so that it could look for its own food.
"I just hope it is still there when we are allowed to finally go back," he said. "Imagine if their cries could be heard at the evacuation center, we would wonder if our pets and animals were finding anything to eat."
Marcellana said the thought kept bothering him and his family now that they had decided to heed warnings not to return home just yet.
Luis Esquivel, also of Mabini and a relative of some of the farmers killed in the 1993 eruption, said that although he had kept coming back to his village, he could not sleep.
He said he was always on the alert, closely watching Mayon’s crater while he tended his crops.
"I have my motorcycle always with me for a quick escape," Esquivel said. "I am used to this. I have experienced these things six times in my life since childhood."
He added: "What we are afraid of is the 'uson' (pyroclastic flows), which killed farmers here."
In the adjacent Barangay Bonga, 8 km from Mayon's crater, hundreds of people still roamed the streets as if things were normal.
"Barangay Bonga will be our next target for the forced evacuation simultaneously with other areas in the northern and eastern side of Mayon," said Capt. Razaleigh G. Bansawan, 901st Infantry Brigade and Task Force Mayon spokesperson.
Mila Atun, 45, mother of 6, said she came back to get firewood and kitchen utensils, and also to fetch Mariel Alaurin, an 8-year-old neighbor left behind by her parents, who are now at a evacuation center in Gogon Elementary School.
Alaurin, in tears, said her father was working in the rice field when he was taken to the evacuation center. The girl was left home alone.
Atun said: "We have gotten used to this kind of situation—evacuating even if we are safe here."
A man who refused to give his name said his family was already in the evacuation center and that no one was left, except him, to look after their carabao, cows, goats and crops. He said he still has not decided whether to leave Barangay Bonga.
As early as 5 a.m. Thursday, Task Force Mayon, the Commission on Human Rights and local government units began implementing Ms Arroyo’s order for forced evacuation.
"A platoon of soldiers from the task force and CHR-Bicol and three military vehicles were sent to the villages within the 6-8-kilometer danger zones to enforce the directive," Bansawan said during the conduct of the forced evacuation at Barangay Mabinit here.
Bansawan also said that a team from the Albay Health and Emergency Management was also requested to attend to incapacitated persons that would be found in the area.
The directive was also issued to all the units manning the checkpoints along the 8-km danger zones to strictly enforce the no-entry policy at the areas.
"As soon as the mission is 100 percent completed, all road networks to the restricted areas will be sealed off," Bansawan said.
Col. Marlou Salazar, commanding officer of the 901st Infantry Brigade of the Philippine Army, briefed the enforcing elements on the rights of the people and their remaining responsibilities after all the people have been forcibly taken out of the danger zones.
"They will have to patrol the area against thieves as the residents opted to leave some of their belongings, some animals like pigs and their pets," Salazar said.
"Forcible evacuation has been ordered, no more exceptions and operations have commenced," Salceda said, adding
"We have patiently explored and employed all means, all ways, all sorts just to get the 10,000 families out of danger and keep within CHR guidance. We could have completed the task in one day instead of nine days but did not due to 179 families still out there, excluding those who have returned without letting us know."
He said dogs would be evacuated as well as the villagers' cattle, carabaos, pigs and pets and be given corresponding feeds for free at their designated evacuation centers in the Albay Breeding Station in Camalig, in Barangay Paraputo in Tabaco City, in Mauraro in Guinobatan and in Bogtong, this city as identified by the Provincial Veterinary Services Office.
Salceda added that the Department of Agriculture Bicol regional office had also provided P15 million fund for post-calamity and rehabilitation activities.
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Villagers lose sleep over Mayon, evacuation
(Page A16)
LEGAZPI CITY—VILLAGERS near Mayon are losing sleep over two things—the volcano’s continued rumbling and soldiers on patrol enforcing orders to forcibly move people out of harm’s way.
Josie Perez, 41, knows how it is to spend sleepless nights. She sneaked back into her house in Barangay Mabinit here to escape an evacuation center that was getting more crowded as Mayon kept sending signs of a major eruption.
Loud rumbling from the volcano kept her awake all night. It didn’t help that the roof of her house shook each time.
At each rumbling, she would go out to look at Mayon. “Its glow has become more intense,” she said.
Evacuees, she said, sneak back into their homes near or inside the danger zones during the day to do three things—wash clothes, gather firewood and feed the animals.
Denver Balenzuela, 3, was in Barangay Matnog in Daraga town at dusk while the rest of the village sat empty like a ghost town after forced evacuation.
Teresita Poquilla, 55, the boy’s grandmother, said they spent the night in their house despite the danger because her grandson refused to use toilets at the evacuation center.
“When the Army went around last night, we turned our lights off for fear that they might force us to go back to the shelters,” Poquilla said.
She recalled seeing a neighbor, a paralytic, being carried away by soldiers.
Poquilla said she and her grandson leaves the evacuation center at 6 a.m. and returns at 4 p.m.
On Monday, they stayed home but rumbling sound from Mayon kept her awake. It sounded, she said, “like rocks chasing one another.”
The absence of a lava fountain despite the raising of the alert level to 4, she said, was what worried her.
“There seems to be a blockage inside the volcano,” she said.
Conrado Nuñez, 71, of Barangay Mabinit, has seen seven previous eruptions.
He sat at the door of his house in the village, keeping watch while his family stayed at the evacuation center in San Roque Elementary School.
If there was something that the villagers fear most, he said, it was what they call uson, a local term for the flow of pyroclastic materials.
Nuñez has learned one lesson in the 1993 eruption—nothing, not even his farm, was worth his life. “We don’t have second lives,” he said. Ephraim Aguilar, Inquirer Southern Luzon
LEGAZPI CITY—VILLAGERS near Mayon are losing sleep over two things—the volcano’s continued rumbling and soldiers on patrol enforcing orders to forcibly move people out of harm’s way.
Josie Perez, 41, knows how it is to spend sleepless nights. She sneaked back into her house in Barangay Mabinit here to escape an evacuation center that was getting more crowded as Mayon kept sending signs of a major eruption.
Loud rumbling from the volcano kept her awake all night. It didn’t help that the roof of her house shook each time.
At each rumbling, she would go out to look at Mayon. “Its glow has become more intense,” she said.
Evacuees, she said, sneak back into their homes near or inside the danger zones during the day to do three things—wash clothes, gather firewood and feed the animals.
Denver Balenzuela, 3, was in Barangay Matnog in Daraga town at dusk while the rest of the village sat empty like a ghost town after forced evacuation.
Teresita Poquilla, 55, the boy’s grandmother, said they spent the night in their house despite the danger because her grandson refused to use toilets at the evacuation center.
“When the Army went around last night, we turned our lights off for fear that they might force us to go back to the shelters,” Poquilla said.
She recalled seeing a neighbor, a paralytic, being carried away by soldiers.
Poquilla said she and her grandson leaves the evacuation center at 6 a.m. and returns at 4 p.m.
On Monday, they stayed home but rumbling sound from Mayon kept her awake. It sounded, she said, “like rocks chasing one another.”
The absence of a lava fountain despite the raising of the alert level to 4, she said, was what worried her.
“There seems to be a blockage inside the volcano,” she said.
Conrado Nuñez, 71, of Barangay Mabinit, has seen seven previous eruptions.
He sat at the door of his house in the village, keeping watch while his family stayed at the evacuation center in San Roque Elementary School.
If there was something that the villagers fear most, he said, it was what they call uson, a local term for the flow of pyroclastic materials.
Nuñez has learned one lesson in the 1993 eruption—nothing, not even his farm, was worth his life. “We don’t have second lives,” he said. Ephraim Aguilar, Inquirer Southern Luzon
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