Tent City for Kanlaon Evacuees Nears Completion

By Glazyl M. Jopson

BACOLOD CITY – The Himamaylan city government in Negros Occidental is close to completing a tent city to house evacuees affected by Kanlaon Volcano.

As of Feb. 15, 300 of the 395 family tents have been set up at Sitio Binging, Barangay 3. In addition to the tents, three communal toilet and bath facilities and three water tanks have been installed, while electrical facilities are still being set up.

The project, spearheaded by the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) with support from the local government, aims to provide temporary shelter for evacuees from neighboring areas if Kanlaon’s alert level increases.

Kanlaon Volcano remains at Alert Level 3. Nearly 6,000 families, or over 18,000 individuals, are still under evacuation orders due to ongoing volcanic activity since the eruption on Dec. 9, 2024.

In a radio interview, Mayor Raymund Tongson expressed gratitude to those involved in the tent city project and assured the public that the city is ready to accommodate more evacuees if needed.

He emphasized the importance of community support during challenging times.

“This is a situation where everybody needs to support everybody,” he said.