Rice farms affected by Mayon eruption

Close to 500 hectares of rice areas in the town of Daraga and the cities of Ligao and Legazpi in Albay are badly affected by the ongoing sporadic eruptions of Mayon Volcano, the Albay Provincial Disaster Coordinating Council (APDCC) said.

Thousands of residents within the eight-kilometer danger zone have already evacuated in elementary schools and in other designated evacuation centers as more explosive eruptions are expected towards the end of this week.

According to APDCC, fruit and vegetable plantations near to the volcano are all damaged. Most of these are on their vegetative and flowering stages.

Farmers in the area said their plantations were ready for harvest a day before the eruption turned everything into ash. Over 100 and 15 hectares of vegetable and fruit plantations, respectively, were damaged by the eruption.

Engineer Percival De Villa, provincial planning officer in Albay, said the report does not include damage(s) in the towns of Camalig and Guinobatan and Tabaco City.

Arnie Perez from Brgy. Mabinit, one of the barangays closest to the volcano, said he lost about P20, 000 because of the eruption. He said it would take three to five months before everything is back to normal.