Mount Pinatubo Eruption - 1991

 

 Mount Pinatubo eruption - 1991

    Mount Pinatubo is a volcano located in the Philippines around 55 miles northwest of Manila which had remained dormant for around 600 years. Earthquakes and steam eruptions began as early as April 2nd started as a waring towards the upcoming eruption of the Pinatubo stratovolcano. Very few, if any, danger maps were available at the time, so volcanologists were quick to start developing a danger map specifically by the PHIVOLCS-VDAP team to give a rough estimate of the people most in danger of a potential eruption. This map, though quickly made, was generally accurate to the areas that would be the most drastically impacted by the upcoming eruption. Along with this, plans were made to evacuate the surrounding area and to bring people to a safe place. On June sixth, the volcano began to swell and give off small ash eruptions, signaling a full eruption and on June 12th, the first eruption occurred sending a 12 mile ash cloud into the air and beginning evacuations. An even larger eruption occurred on June 15th depositing 660 feet of volcanic deposits. This was paired with typhoon Yunya which spread ashfall far further than was expected, including Manila and Subic Bay as well as destroying the roofs of houses that would be otherwise safe from the ash. This eruption destroyed buildings, cars, and bridges within 18 miles of the volcano and many towns were buried in mud. This ended with a death tally of 840 (communications and publishing, 2016) and 100,000 homeless (Matthias, Meg, 2024).

    This event was a tragedy, simply put. While there is a lesson to learn, as there should have been a system placed already in preparation of an eruption event, that is if they even knew it was active at that point. But even then, when signs of an eruption showed, they were quick to rectify this inaction and set up a plan with little to no hesitation. This plan would have been very effective as well if it weren't for the typhoon that struck at the same time which caused far more destruction and death than if the eruption were to have occurred alone. Even if the more advanced communication technology were available to those in charge at the time, that would only have marginally helped the death count as the factor of the typhoon would still likely not be accounted for. That typhoon was a factor that no one was prepared for and had no real reason to prepare for, as it is such an unlikely event that it wouldn't warrant preparation. Alongside this, a disease in the evacuation camps caused even more death (Matthias, Meg, 2024) to what should have been a very prepared safety system. The eruption alone was devastatingly large, the second largest of the 20th century (Allen, Timothy "Seph", 2021), but combined with the typhoon and disease, created a setting that wasn't possible to prepare for.

Accuweather, Brian Lada, 2021. https://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/mount-pinatubo-eruption-june-1991-30-year-anniversary/962916 [ID a massive ash cloud towering above a field]. This image was chosen to show the immense scale of the eruption.

Vintag, unknown author, 2020. https://www.vintag.es/2020/06/mount-pinatubo-eruption.html [ID people looking at rubble of what used to be a house]. This image was chosen to show the amount of damage caused by the eruption.

Wired, Erik Klemetti, 2011. https://www.wired.com/2011/06/the-20th-anniversary-of-the-eruption-of-pinatubo-in-the-philippines/ [ID a map showing the areas affected by Pinatubo's lahars]. This image was chosen to show the size of the eruption in detail.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nk_SujzwjV0 The first half of this video is about the sheer size and power of the Pinatubo eruption. And the second half is about what can be done in preparation for an eruption of this magnitude in the future,

Brittanica, (last updated 2024, September 21), Mount Pinatubo, revised and updated by Meg Matthias, retrieved November 2nd 2024 from https://www.britannica.com/place/Mount-Pinatubo

USGS, (2016, June 16th), Remembering Mount Pinatubo 25 years ago, by communications and publishing, retrieved November 2nd 2024 from https://www.usgs.gov/news/featured-story/remembering-mount-pinatubo-25-years-ago-mitigating-a-crisis

Nasa, (2021, June 15th), Remembering Mt. Pinatubo, by Timothy "Seph" Allen, retrieved November 2nd 2024 from https://appliedsciences.nasa.gov/our-impact/story/remembering-mt-pinatubo  

LiveScience, (2011, June 15th), Pinatubo: Why the Biggest Volcanic Eruption Wasn't the Deadliest, by Stephanie Pappas, retrieved November 2nd 2024 from https://www.livescience.com/14603-pinatubo-eruption-20-anniversary.html

Earth: The Science Behind the Headlines, (2018, May 1st), Benchmarks: June 15th, 1991: Mount Pinatubo erupts, by Lucas Joel, retrieved November 2nd 2024 from https://www.earthmagazine.org/article/benchmarks-june-15-1991-mount-pinatubo-erupts