Albay governor orders end to Mayon evacuation operations

LEGAZPI CITY, Philippines – Four months after restive Mayon Volcano forced more than 5,000 families or 20,148 people to evacuate from their homes, Albay governor Edcel Greco A. B. Lagman grave the green light for their return.

Lagman ordered mayors of affected towns and cities on Thursday afternoon, October 5 to wrap up evacuation-related activities in temporary shelters.

He also ordered chief executives to assist displaced families to return home.

“Due to Mayon Volcano’s decreasing signs of restiveness based on the monitoring of Phivolcs as well as the Albay Public Safety Emergency Management Office. (Apsemo). I hereby direct the respective local mayors in the municipalities and cities to order the decampment of their respective evacuees immediately,” he said.

Lagman, who chairs the Albay Provincial Disaster Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (PDRRMC), acknowledged “the need of evacuee families for normalcy even as they have been residing for more than three months in evacuation centers across the province.”

This is a developing story and Rappler will update with details from provincial and local governments. – Rappler.com