10,000 families in Albay’s danger zones to be relocated

LEGAZPI CITY, Philippines — The provincial government of Albay is eyeing the relocation of 10,000 families residing along coastlines, in flood and landslide-prone areas as well as within Mayon Volcano’s six-kilometer permanent danger zone.

Cedric Daep, Albay public safety and emergency management office chief, said they have started zoning and mapping of high-risk areas.

“We need to get the latest and actual data after several natural disasters, such as typhoons and volcanic eruptions occurred in Albay in recent years,” Daep told The STAR.

Daep said they would use state-of-the-art drones to identify danger zones and high-risk areas, including the new configuration of lahar and other volcanic materials deposited along the slopes of Mayon.

“We conducted several surveys around Mayon, in elevated grounds and low-lying areas... as an initial step to determine who should be relocated,” he said.

Daep said those residing within Mayon’s danger zones in Guinobatan, Camalig, Ligao City, Daraga and Legazpi City would be given priority.

He said residents of Barangay San Roque in Malilipot town, where some 130 families are staying in tents at a public school, are also at risk due to soil erosion in the area.

“I told them to evacuate as early as 1993 because experts told us that the village is prone to landslides and soil erosion. Now it is happening,” Daep said.