Taal eruption casualty remains zero: Batangas prov’l gov’t

FILE: Members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and Philippine National Police conduct evacuation operations in Talisay, Batangas on Monday (Jan. 13, 2020). Residents are advised to take shelter on safer grounds after Taal Volcano erupted on Sunday that prompted authorities to declare Alert Level 4 which means “hazardous eruption is possible within days.” (PNA photo by Joey Razon)

MANILA— There is no recorded casualty in Batangas province amid the volcanic eruption of Taal Volcano so far, a provincial government official said on Tuesday.

In an interview with Radyo Pilipinas, Batangas provincial administrator Levi Dimaunahan said they have yet to record or monitor any casualty in the province due to the volcanic eruption.

“We are now in the relief operations stage as many residents from different towns in Batangas have been evacuated,” he added.

He attributed the early warnings for residents near living Taal island resulted in zero casualties, noting that being prepared has helped to keep their constituents out of harm’s way.

He said the Taal volcano remains at alert level 4.

“Most of the residents from Agoncillo, San Nicolas, Laurel and Talisay have already been evacuated from their homes”, he said.

He said some of the evacuees are staying with their relatives and friends in different places while some are in the neighboring provinces of Batangas and in Metro Manila, which decongested most of the evacuation centers in the area.

Castro added the relief goods continue to pour in from the national agencies and donations from private groups and individuals.

He also thanked the Pampanga provincial government for providing medical assistance, heavy equipment for the clearing roads of ashes, trucks to evacuate residents to safer grounds.