Mt. Pinatubo

Mt. Pinatubo, June 1991 (The Philippines) Mt. Pinatubo had not erupted for over 600 years. Its slopes had become fertile, well-cultivated paddy fields. People did not expect it to erupt. On 12 th June the mountain erupted. Measurements and predictions by scientists had meant that over 200,000 people had been evacuated by the time that the mountain erupted.

The Effects The eruption sent a huge cloud of gas and ash up into the atmosphere. Torrential rain then caused much of the ash to be deposited back on the ground as mud. An area of over 600km in radius had ash falls from the volcano, with nearly 50cm falling near the mountain itself.

The Effects Most terrifying of all were the lahar's that was produced. These are huge, speeding mudslides, formed by the ash and the torrential rain that swept down covering entire villages in a think layer of mud, often up to 10 feet deep. They destroyed over 200,000 homes and covered 50,000 hectares of farmland.

The Aftermath Although a relatively small number of people were killed (350), the effects of the eruption were devastating. Diseases such as malaria and cholera spread quickly in the refugee camps set up to help the evacuee's. Over the next few years, heavy rains caused ash and dust from the eruption to create more devastating lahars.