In two weeks’ time, the Philippines is set to celebrate National Disaster Consciousness Month, a reminder for all to keep their guard against natural and man-made calamities.
And as if to emphasize this point, the Philippine Institute for Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) has raised the alarm over increased activity at two of the Philippines’ most active volcanoes — Taal and Mayon.
Last week, Phivolcs reported "significant volcanic smog (vog)" forming over the Taal Volcano — a sign that three years after it erupted in January 2020, the volcano still poses a significant threat.
On that same week, Phivolcs also raised Mayon Volcano’s alert level to Alert Level 3 (increased tendency towards hazardous eruption) following continuous increase in rockfall events.
While Taal Volcano still remains at Alert Level 1, authorities around the so-called “danger zone” are not taking chances and are preparing “contingency” measures to evacuate residents that could be affected by increased activity over the volcano.
As of press time, there has been no report on whether LGUs in Laguna province are preparing for a possible increased activity at Taal Volcano.
But we must remember that the province itself could receive its share of the impacts of a possible eruption of Taal Volcano, as we had experienced in 2020 when ashfall from the volcano reached parts of the province and caused significant damage to property, as well as wreaking havoc on people’s health.
Local government officials, especially those tasked with disaster risk reduction and management, should be reminded that disaster preparedness should be a 24/7 endeavor.
Disasters could happen anytime ... and so there’s no room for lowering our guard when it comes to protecting our people from imminent calamities.