Cavite placed under state of calamity amid Taal unrest
MANILA, Philippines — The province of Cavite was declared under a state of calamity on Wednesday due to Taal Volcano's eruption, according to a Facebook post by Cavite Vice Gov. Jolo Revilla.
Batangas was also placed under the state of calamity on Monday afternoon for the same reasons.
According to a memorandum published by the Official Gazette, a state of calamity signifies "a condition involving mass casualty and/or major damages to the environment, property, infrastructures, disruption of means of livelihood and businesses, and normal way of life of people in the affected areas as a result of the occurrence of natural or human-induced hazard."
A total of P74,549,300 worth of damage was inflicted on agriculture in the provinces of Batangas and Cavite, collectively.
"Ang Sangguniang Panlalawigan ng Cavite ay nagkaroon ng special session para buuin at aprubahan ang resolusyon na nagsasabi na ang buong lalawigan ng Cavite ay nasa State of Calamity dahil sa epektong dulot ng pagsabog ng bulkang Taal," the solon wrote.
Air quality in Silang Cavite, though, has been listed as having "Good Air Quality" with an Air Quality Index of 47, indicating that the area's "Air pollution poses little to no risk" according to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
On Monday, Rep. Elpidio Barzaga (Cavite) also called for a probe into what he said was a lackluster information drive on the state of Taal leading up to its initial eruption.
Wednesday's 8 a.m. bulletin by Phivolcs, state volcanologists said that the volcano displayed "generally weaker" activity throughout the past 24 hours.
But according to NDRRMC's bulletin on Monday morning, the number of evacuees has steadily been on an uptick.
As of this writing, exactly 10,000 families—totaling 43,681 persons—were seeking temporary shelter in 217 evacuation centers, according to a bulletin by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC).
Rampant ashfall following Taal Volcano's eruptions continues to disrupt the lives of many as the NDRRMC recorded on Wednesday a new high of 12,486 families—53,019 people living in Batangas and Cavite—who were said to be affected by the ongoing volcanic unrest.
"Patuloy tayong mag-ingat mga kababayan. Manatiling maging updated sa mga opisyal na balita at announcements," Revilla said in his post.
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