A non-government organization dedicated to animal rescue initiatives called on pet and livestock owners to refrain from leaving them behind amid the current unrest of Taal Volcano.
Animal Kingdom Foundation (AKF) on Thursday said that residents in high-risk areas should bring their animals with them should they evacuate to safer places.
“Pets are family! You do not leave a family member in danger. Should there be a need for evacuation, please bring your pets with you. Evacuation areas will be alloting safe, temporary holding areas for your animals,” it said on a Facebook post.
AKF said that it is also monitoring the situation and will soon dispatch its emergency response team to assess the situation on the ground.
The reminder came after the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology on Thursday afternoon placed Taal Volcano from Alert Level 2 (increasing unrest) to Alert Level 3 (magmatic unrest).
The institute reported that at 3:16 p.m., the main crater ejected a one-kilometer plume of steam and magma.
“This means that there is magmatic intrusion at the Main Crater that may further drive succeeding eruptions,” Phivolcs said in a bulletin,” Phivolcs said in its bulletin.
The institute said the Alert Level 3 on the Batangas-based volcano means that a “hazardous eruption is possible within days to weeks.”
It strongly recommended the evacuation of residents on Taal Volcano Island and high-risk barangays such as Agoncillo and Laurel in Batangas due to possible hazards brought by the volcano.
Last February, some online Filipinos also reminded residents to take their pets with them amid reports of forced evacuation.
When the volcano erupted in January last year, many animals were left in their cages, on the streets and were still on leashes when residents evacuated from the Taal Volcano Island for safety.
Limited transport prevented some owners to carry their pets as well.
Spokesperson Mark Timbal of the Office of Civil Defense said that the municipal government of Agoncillo and Laurel are evacuating its high-risk barangays as of Thursday evening.
These are barangays Banyaga, Bilibinwang, Gulod, Boso-Boso and Lakeshore Bugaan East.
There is an estimated number of 3,523 families or 14,495 individuals to be relocated.
