STO. DOMINGO, Albay – While everyone is rejoicing over the news that they can now go back home, 77-year-old farmer Pedro Balasta was sitting in the middle of a small road fronting a small nipa hut which he built in San Andres Resettlement area here.

He was busy watching the majestic Mayon Volcano, renowned for its perfect cone beauty but infamous for claiming the lives of thousands of Bicolanos, the most number was the 1814 eruption that killed more than 1,000 when it buried the town of Cagsawa and the mudflow that killed at least 1,000 more in 2006. But he can’t see its beauty, the summit was covered with thick clouds and it was about to rain.

“Dai muna ako mauli, digdi muna ako. Dai dapat matiwalaan ang Mayon lalo na biglang puminundo,” said Balasta. (“I won’t go home yet, I will stay here for a while. Mayon should not be trusted especially that it suddenly dies down.”)

An old man’s wisdom so they say, although it defies Saturday’s advice of volcanologist out of scientific observations on Mayon, is logical for some as Balasta is a veteran of so many evacuations – since 1938 Mayon eruption actually.

There were 50 recorded Mayon Volcano eruptions since 1616, and based on the data from the Albay Provincial Disaster and Coordinating Council, Balasta has been driven out of his home for 11 times since he was six years old, including this year.

“Iyo iyan ang pigpaparataram samo kan mga gurang mi, igwang mangyayari pag biglang puminundo. Bahala sindang mag-uruli, ako digdi sana muna maski pwersahon ninda ako,” Balasta told his buddy, 82-year old Emeterio Balbin, who is also a believer of the calm-before-the-storm theory. (“That’s what my parents had been telling men, eruption will come if there is a sudden lull. It’s up to them to go home but for me, I will stay here, even if they take me out forcibly.”)

They may not be forcibly taken back home but the sudden stoppage in the relief distribution will certainly compel them to leave.

Saturday, Albay Governor Joey Salceda ordered a massive decampment of evacuees in order to clear the schools that were occupied by some 9,500 families or approximately 45,000 displaced residents in order to give way for the resumption of classes on January 4.

Harrowing experience

Balasta’s apprehensions are understandable, especially when he started recalling his traumatic experience during the 1984 eruption of the Mayon Volcano.

He said he was among those who returned to his home in Fidel Surtida, which is located within the extended eight-kilometer danger zone, when Mayon’s rumblings suddenly stopped.

“It was early morning when we were roused from sleep by loud rumblings and strong quakes. When I went out, I saw large boulders, glowing lava and ashes venting out of the crater,” Balasta narrated in local dialect.

“There were confusions. I tried to run away but I couldn’t stand, the earthquakes were so strong, like we were inside a box that is being toyed with by a giant,” he added.

He said he was left with no option but to crawl away, and that’s the time when he saw some people being sucked in by a strong gush of wind coming from the volcanic materials from the Mayon summit.

“The winds are like magnet, that was when I start to believe that if you are in the danger zone during eruption, you will certainly die,” said Balbin who also witnessed the incident.

It was a miracle, they said, that there were no reported fatalities in their barangay but they said most of them sustained burns from the hot volcanic materials and injuries as a result of the earthquakes.
Animal alert

With no warnings from scientists before, 83-year-old Felimon Osopardo said they are relying on the unusual animal behavior as to when they would evacuate to save themselves from Mayon’s wrath.

“When we see snakes appearing in areas where they are not supposed to be, we start to suspect that Mayon would erupt,” said Osopardo who is from Barangay Buyuan in Legazpi City.

This was also confirmed by 73-year-old Zosima Balbin, from Barangay Sta. Miserecordia in Sto. Domingo town, who said that they usually see throngs of bees fleeing from Mayon before an eruption would occur.

“We also see wild chickens (locally called talon) and wild boars (locally called opon) fleeing. That serves as a sign for us to also leave,” said Balbin.

And those animals and insects save their lives as eruption would then follow.

Resident volcanologist Ed Laguerta said the first time they devise a warning system was after the Mount Pinatubo eruption in the early 90s. The system proved to be beneficial for evacuating residents in Mayon Volcano areas.

“A scenario of animals fleeing is also accepted as an early warning. Animals have good instincts for self-preservation and they are helpful for keen observers,” said Laguerta.

Aside from animal behaviors, Laguerta said other signs are the significant decrease in the volumes of water from the springs and other sources of water around Mayon Volcano due to the swelling up of the ground due to rising magma and the frequent occurrence of earthquakes.

Tourism vs disaster

He used to plant palay and vegetables in his farmland at the foot of Mount Mayon in Sto. Domingo but with the series of destructive eruptions in the past, Balasta said he is now resorting to planting trees that would be converted into logs later to survive.

“I’ve been to two barangays before I live in Fidel Surtida. I was forced to move out because Mayon destroyed my farmland for three times already,” said Balasta.

While it is considered as a destructive force, others, however, see Mayon Volcano eruption as a tourist draw.

Since December 14 when it started oozing out glowing lava, Albay suddenly became one of the top tourist destinations of the country for this month over the rumblings of the Mount Mayon, registering a record-high 2,400 local and foreign tourists a day.

“We are registering the biggest tourist arrival in the country, all because of Mayon. This is the biggest tourists surge in the history of Albay,” said Albay Governor Joey Salceda.

He said they are expecting the figure to balloon to up to at least 74,400 should the volcanic activities continues for 15 more days. But it didn’t as Mayon’s activities have already subsided after 18 days since December 14.

Salceda said all their hotels, even the smaller ones, in Legazpi City and nearby areas are getting fully-booked, with flights and buses get higher load factors since Mayon started to rumble.