Energy News  
Farmers refuse to leave slopes of rumbling Philippine volcano

by Mynardo Macaraig
Matanag, Philippines, Aug 8, 2006
== With two water buffalo dragging wooden sleds laden with sacks of dried coconut meat, farmer Bienvenido Belga descended the slope of the simmering Mayon volcano as an evacuation of tens of thosuands of residents moved into full swing.

But after unloading the sacks, Belga hitched up his two bullocks and began another arduous ascent back up the volcano in the central Philippines that left 68 dead when it last blew its top 13 years ago.

"We need the money. The copra (coconut meat) will rot if left there," he said, as ash and lava continued to belch from the crater of 8,070-foot (2,460-meter) dome, sparking government warnings of a deadly eruption.

Like a dozen other farmers in this farming hamlet, well within the declared eight-kilometer (five mile) danger zone, Belga has defied evacuation calls to rescue his harvested crops on the slopes of Mayon.

"We still have six sacks to bring down," Belga said, adding that he did not feel in danger yet.

Belga said he could see the smoke emitted by Mayon but the ash and lava "is far from the area where we are producing copra".

Some 400 residents of Matanag, mostly women and children, have fled their homes for the safety of a school in the nearby city of Legaspi, among 23,000 so far moved off Mayon's slopes out of an estimated 35,000 people considered at risk.

Soldiers assigned to enforce the evacuation have set up a crude road block of tree trunks to prevent any vehicles from entering.

But some of those evacuated still make periodic trips to Matanag to pick up belongings and check on their homes. Soldiers said they could not force them to leave.

Second Lieutenant Alan Matres, head of an army team securing Matanag, said the women and children had left and that mainly men had stayed behind to guard their homes and farms.

"They are the last priority," he remarked.

Agripino Balasta said his mother and siblings were evacuated but he returned to Matanag because the conditions here were better than in the evacuation center.

"We are used to this," he said, dismissing the danger. But if the volcanic activity worsens, he will flee the area.

"It is up to God," he said.

Farmer Eladio Petsalosi said his children had evacuated but added, "I just came back to feed my cat."

"I will come back occasionally. I have a television at home. What if it gets stolen?"

Roslyn Marsan, a farmer, said she returned to pick up some vegetables from her garden.

"We get tired of canned goods all the time" at the evacuation center. "We want to have some vegetables and we need firewood for cooking them," she said.

An Army truck stood waiting, just in case the stragglers at Matanag have to make a last-minute escape.

Matres said his men were in contact with the government volcanologists monitoring Mayon and if there was an explosive eruption, they would take the people remaining in Matanag and flee.

Many of the farmers said they would wait for the soldiers to start leaving before they moved out.

"When the army pulls out, I will go too," said farmer David Balangitan.

Community
Email This Article
Comment On This Article

Related Links
Dirt, rocks and all the stuff we stand on firmly



Memory Foam Mattress Review
Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News


Philippine troops rush people off slopes of rumbling volcano
Legaspi, Philippines, Aug 8, 2006
Troops fanned out across the slopes of the rumbling Mayon volcano in the central Philippines Tuesday to try to enforce the evacuation of villagers before a deadly eruption.







  • BP Pipeline Leak Closes Down Biggest US Oilfield
  • Korean Scientist Makes Crude Oil Into Fuel
  • Unaxis drives back into profit on solar panels and microchips
  • Challenging Conventional Wisdom About High-Temperature Superconductivity

  • New Check On Nuke Power
  • Swedish nuclear sector out of danger, but political fallout lingers
  • US Says New Pakistani Nuclear Reactor Not Very Powerful
  • Nuclear Plant Faced Possible Meltdown In Sweden

  • NASA Experiment Finds Possible Trigger For Radio-Busting Bubbles
  • California's Model Skies
  • ESA Picks SSTL To Develop Atmospheric CO2 Detector
  • Faster Atmospheric Warming In Subtropics Pushes Jet Streams Toward Poles

  • Debate Continues On Post-Wildfire Logging, Forest Regeneration
  • Malaysia And Indonesia Join Forces To Dampen Haze Problem
  • Fires Rage In Indonesian Borneo And Sumatra
  • WWF Warns Over Pulp Giant In Indonesia

  • Food-Crop Yields In Future Greenhouse-Gas Conditions Lower Than Expected
  • Acid rain in China threatening food chain
  • Farmland shrinkage in China threatens grain production
  • Brownfields May Turn Green With Help From Michigan State Research

  • Toyota To Expand Hybrid Car Range In US
  • Ford First To Offer Clean-Burning Hydrogen Vehicles
  • Smart Cars To Rule The Roads
  • Nano Replacement For Petroleum

  • US Sanctions On Russia Could Hurt Boeing
  • Boeing Puts Aircraft Market At 2.6 Trillion Dollars
  • Innovative Solutions Make Transportation Systems Safer Secure and Efficient
  • Joint Strike Fighter Is Not Flawed Finds Australian Government

  • Could NASA Get To Pluto Faster? Space Expert Says Yes - By Thinking Nuclear
  • NASA plans to send new robot to Jupiter
  • Los Alamos Hopes To Lead New Era Of Nuclear Space Tranportion With Jovian Mission
  • Boeing Selects Leader for Nuclear Space Systems Program

  • The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2006 - SpaceDaily.AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA PortalReports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additionalcopyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement