DR MAYON UPDATE: There are now almost 90,000 evacuees in Albay

Written by Pia L. Camagay, Writer, Operation Blessing Philippines

The number of evacuees following the Mayon eruptions continues to rise. According to Manila Bulletin, Mayon erupted once again last Monday night, spewing rocks as big as cars and houses. President Rodrigo Duterte is proposing to declare the 6-km permanent danger zone around Mayon to be a no man’s land to prevent the need for evacuation every time volcanic activity occurs. Mayon continues to show activity and the danger zone has been expanded to 8-km from the crater.

The evacuees face inconvenient living conditions at the evacuation centers. At present, there are 74 designated evacuation centers and about 60,000 people are sheltered in each one. About 12,000 people have to sleep in places outside of these designated centers. One of the pressing concerns across all relief camps is the worsening sanitation crisis. Evacuees might have to stay at the centers for a month, says Gov. Al Francis Bichara.

Operation Blessing has been working hard to reach as much evacuees as possible and make their condition more bearable. As of today, we have already helped out 12,073 evacuees in Camalig, Albay – providing them with dust masks, food packs, medical assistance, psychosocial support, feeding, and free haircuts. OB is also planning to give out hygiene kits, livelihood projects, and medical assistance to more areas through a mobile clinic.