Nearly 40 000 flee volcano

2006-08-09 10:28

Mynardo Macaraig

Philippines - Rescuers on Wednesday raced against time to get villagers away from the rumbling Philippine volcano Mayon, with nearly 40 000 people so far fleeing the danger zone.

A two-day effort by the military and local government has seen 39 278 people safely evacuated from villages surrounding the scenic mountain, the most active volcano in the Philippines, the provincial disaster co-ordinating council said.

Relief agencies are bracing for a long stay in makeshift evacuation centres, mainly converted schoolhouses.

"For the time being, food is not the problem," Legaspi city mayor Noel Rosal said, but appealed for help from the national government.

"We can sustain this until the end of the week. The only problem here is congested rooms. We might have to open new rooms so epidemics won't occur."

School rooms are housing up to 30 evacuees who sleep on the floor and are fed with tinned meat and instant noodles.

Local officials though are experienced in dealing with Mayon, which has erupted around 50 times in the past 400 years, most recently in 1993 when 77 people died.

They said the main difficulty was dissuading residents from returning to their homes amid an apparent lull in the volcano's eruptive phase.

Farmers have been reluctant to abandon their crops and homes, sneaking out of evacuation centres in the morning to work their farms and guard their property.

The civil defence office in Manila said the military and the police have now set up checkpoints on its lower slopes to enforce a "No Human Activity" zone within eight kilometres of the crater.

Their job has been complicated by communist guerrillas, who attacked an infantry unit evacuating residents near Daraga town close to the slopes of the rumbling mountain, the military said. Five soldiers were injured.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) meanwhile said that after an upsurge of activity on Monday, the 2 460m Mayon was quieter on Tuesday.

From 109 volcanic quakes on Monday, only 21 were recorded on Tuesday. The amount of sulphur dioxide expelled also fell by nearly half. It has been quietly belching out lava since July 15.

However, the institute said such swings in activity were an anomaly and warned that a hazardous eruption could still take place within days.

- AFP