AT least 628 individuals out of over 18,000 Albay residents staying at evacuation centers due to the continuing unrest of Mayon Volcano have fallen ill, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said yesterday.
Coughs and colds, fever, acute respiratory infection, and headaches are the top four leading illnesses at the evacuation centers, said NDRRMC spokesman Bernardo Rafaelito Alejandro.
There is no outbreak, he said, adding the Department of Health is addressing the health situation at the evacuation centers.
Alejandro said 96 coughs and colds cases were reported at the centers, 88 fever cases, 75 cases of acute respiratory infection, and 60 cases of fever.
Rounding up the top 10 illnesses contracted by the evacuees were hypertension (33 cases), dizziness (16), skin diseases (15 cases), abdominal pain (14 cases), colds (13) and acute gastroenteritis (12).
“That (data) is based on the surveillance by the DOH (Department of Health) … This is based on consultations (at the evacuation centers),” said Alejandro.
Alejandro said the number of people getting sick at the evacuation centers is not that bothersome, noting these cases are common illnesses.
“There is no outbreak, it’s not an outbreak,” he said, noting that the number of people who have fallen ill is not that high, compared to the total number of evacuees.
Alejandro said the number of evacuees who got sick may increase in the coming days as the DOH is continuing its consultations with the evacuees.
He said the DOH is also giving out medicines.
CLINICS
Alejandro said the DOH is looking at the possibility of establishing clinics in all the evacuation centers. Also being eyed are isolation centers the evacuation centers.
In situational report, the NDRRMC said 5,466 families (18,892 individuals) are staying at 28 evacuation centers in the province.
It said 353 other families (1,235 individuals) were displaced by the activities of Mayon and are staying with relatives or friends.
Teresito Bacolcol, officer-in-charge of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs), said the activities of Mayon Volcano, which is under Alert Level 3 ((increased tendency towards hazardous eruption), may last for at least three months. He said Mayon’s current effusive eruption is “largely similar” to the 2014 eruption. “However, there could be changes any time and again, this may progress to a violent eruption. But right now, its unrest is same as the 2014 eruption,” he said.
“The 2014 eruption started in August and ended in November. Under this scenario, it would probably take at least three months before activity of Mayon stops,” he added
In a bulletin, Phivolcs said it has recorded no volcanic earthquakes at Mayon from 5 a.m. Sunday to 5 a.m. yesterday, against three volcanic quakes recorded during the previous 24-hour monitoring period.
Phivolcs also recorded 265 rockfall events, from 274; five pyroclastic density currents, from 11; and 889 tons of sulfur dioxide emission, from 1,004 tons.
NDRRMC executive director Ariel Nepomuceno, in a briefing, said the agency is preparing for a 90-day relief operation in Albay, in compliance with the directive of President Marcos Jr.
“If this (operation) will end earlier, it’s good. But the government, national and local government, has to be ready for a minimum of 90 days,” he said.
EMERGENCY CASH AID
The NDRRMC said P71.55 million in assistance has been provided to the evacuees and others who were affected by Mayon’s unrest, including family food packs, valued at P21.9 million.
Social Welfare Secretary Rex Gatchalian said the government has started the distribution of a P12,000 monthly emergency cash transfer assistance to affected families, which they can use for additional needs such as milk for infants and elders, and diapers, and to prevent “food pack fatigue.”
In an interview with CNN Philippines, he said the emergency cash aid for June is sourced from the DSWD’s Assistance to Individual Crisis Situation (AICS) program. but future fund releases would come from the emergency funds of the department.
“We’re going to use the emergency cash transfer, given that they already declared a state of calamity. There’s a modality in the department that allows us to do emergency cash transfer and the formula there is, just to give you an idea, it’s 75 percent of the daily wage multiplied by the number of days with a maximum of 90 days,” he said in mixed English and Filipino.
Gatchalian said another P12,000 is set to be given to the affected families in July while the P12,000 cash assistance in August would depend on whether the volcanic activities would continue.
Gatchalian said the cash assistance is on top of the family food packs (FFPs) or food boxes and non-food relief items such as sleeping kits, cooking kits and hygiene kits that are being distributed to the beneficiaries.
He said each family food pack, which costs around P700 to P800 per box, is designed to cover a family’s food needs for about three days.
Gatchalian also said the “roughly around P400 million” budget for the cash assistance is expected to benefit around 26,000 families, the projected figure if the alert level is raised and.
Senate minority leader Aquilino Pimentel III expressed gratitude to the United Arab Emirates for donating 50 tons of relief and food supplies and China which gave P4 million worth of rice for the affected families.
“These two nations have exemplified the true spirit of friendship and solidarity. Their assistance and donations have made a significant impact on the lives of the affected families in Albay, bringing them much-needed relief and hope,” Pimentel said. — With Jocelyn Montemayor and Raymond Africa
