Around 39,000 individuals or over 9,000 families were evacuated following Kanlaon Volcano’s eruption on Monday, the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) said Wednesday.

In a press conference, OCD Assistant Secretary Bernardo Rafaelito Alejandro IV said 39,258 individuals or 9,942 families were evacuated in Negros Island, out of the targeted 84,549 people or 17,000 families.

This included residents in La Carlota City, La Castellana City, and Kanlaon City in Negros Occidental.

He said 12,000 individuals are staying in 29 evacuation centers.

Alejandro said the interagency center of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) is preparing for the worst-case scenario.

“We are looking at the initial, as per Phivolcs (Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology), a three-week scenario,” Alejandro said.

“We are looking at, if we extend it up to eight kilometers, we will have to evacuate around 116,000 individuals. Now, if we extend the danger zone to ten kilometers, we need to evacuate 139,000 individuals,” he added.

Phivolcs Director Teresito Bacolcol said they monitored increased volcanic activity at Kanlaon Volcano and that this could mean a “prolonged evacuation” for affected residents.

In an advisory on Wednesday, Phivolcs said two ash emission events and 31 volcanic earthquakes were recorded at Kanlaon Volcano.

According to Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Director Cris Mathay, 4,736 family food packs worth P3.2 million were distributed at Kanlaon.

He added that sleeping and hygiene kits worth P4.4 million were also given to affected residents. Jaspearl Tan/DMS