LESSONS LEARNED FROM

PAST NOTABLE DISASTERS.

THE PHILIPPINES.
PART 3: VOLCANIC
ERUPTIONS

Walter Hays, Global Alliance for

Disaster Reduction, Vienna,
Virginia, USA
 NATURAL HAZARDS THAT PLACE THE
PHILIPPINES’ COMMUNITIES AT RISK

EARTHQUAKES
GOAL: DISASTER
RESILIENCE TYPHOONS

FLOODS
ENACT AND IMPLEMENT
POLICIES HAVING HIGH
BENEFIT/COST FOR LANDSLIDES
COMMUNITY RESILIENCE
VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS

GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE

 VOLCANO RISK
ACCEPTABLE RISK
•VOLCANO HAZARDS
•BLDG. INVENTORY RISK
•VULNERABILITY UNACCEPTABLE RISK
•LOCATION

GOAL: EARTHQUAKE
PHILIPPINES’ DISASTER RESILIENCE
DATA BASES
AND INFORMATION COMMUNITIES

POLICY OPTIONS

• PREPAREDNESS
HAZARDS: •PROTECTION
GROUND SHAKING
GROUND FAILURE •EARLY WARNING
SURFACE FAULTING
TECTONIC DEFORMATION
•EMERGENCY RESPONSE
TSUNAMI RUN UP •RECOVERY and
AFTERSHOCKS
RECONSTRUCTION
 THE KEYS TO RESILIENCE:
1) KNOW THE ERUPTIVE HISTORY OF
YOUR REGION’S VOLCANOES,
2) BE PREPARED
3) HAVE A WARNING SYSTEM
4) EVACUATE
5) LEARN FROM THE
EXPERIENCE AND START OVER
 CAUSES
OF RISK

LATERAL BLAST

PYROCLASTIC FLOWS

FLYING DEBRIS

VOLCANIC VOLCANIC ASH

ERUPTIONS

CASE HISTORIES
LAVA FLOWS

LAHARS

TOXIC GASES
THE PHILIPPINE PLATE
 VOLCANOES

VOLCANOES HAVE ERUPTED VIOLENTLY

IN THE PHILIPPINES AS A RESULT OF
COMPLEX INTERACTIONS OF THE
PHILIPPINE AND EURASIAN PLATES
GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION OF 1,500
ACTIVE VOLCANOES
http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/rp.html
 LUZON VOLCANIC ARC
Chain of subduction volcanoes on the
west side of the Philippine island of
Luzon, including Mount Pinatubo

red triangles = volcanoes active

in the last 10,000 years
 Major Volcanoes in
the Philippines

http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/Volcanoes/Philippines/Maps/map_philippines_volcanoes.html
 MOUNT PINATUBO FACTS

• Pinatubo is a stratovolcano,
a volcano comprised of
layers of lava flows and
pyroclastic material that
gradually accumulated over
time.

http://volcano.und.nodak.edu/vwdocs/volc_images/southeast_asia/philippines/pinatubo.html
ANCIENT MOUNT PINATUBO

Ancestral Pinatubo was an andesite and

dacite stratovolcano whose center was
in roughly the same location as the
modern Pinatubo.

http://volcano.und.nodak.edu/vwdocs/volc_images/southeast_asia/philippines/pinatubo.html
MOUNT PINATUBO FACTS
–Before April 2, 1991,
volcanologists considered
Mount Pinatubo to be an
inconspicuous, currently
inactive volcano that had
once been active a
millennium ago.

http://volcano.und.nodak.edu/vwdocs/volc_images/southeast_asia/philippines/pinatubo.html
 ERUPTION HISTORY
• The largest prior eruption in the
history of the modern Pinatubo
occurred over 35,000 years ago.
• That eruption distributed over 325
ft (100 m) of pyroclastic flow
material on all sides of the volcano,
signaling the geologic rebirth of the
volcano.

http://volcano.und.nodak.edu/vwdocs/volc_images/southeast_asia/philippines/pinatubo.html
 ERUPTION HISTORY
.

• Radiocarbon ages suggest that

eruptions from the modern
Pinatubo have been clustered in at
least six and possibly as many as a
dozen eruption episodes.

http://volcano.und.nodak.edu/vwdocs/volc_images/southeast_asia/philippines/pinatubo.html
MOUNT PINATUBO FACTS
–Many people residing in the
area, including those in
nearby military bases,
barely knew of Mount
Pinatubo at allm a factor
that hindered evacuation.

http://volcano.und.nodak.edu/vwdocs/volc_images/southeast_asia/philippines/pinatubo.html
 VOLCANO HAZARDS
CAN HAVE FAR REACHING IMPACTS

• VERTICAL PLUME (can affect

jet aircraft)
• ASH AND TEPHRA
• LATERAL BLAST
• PYROCLASTIC CLOUDS,
BURSTS, AND FLOWS
 VOLCANO HAZARDS
CAN HAVE FAR REACHING IMPACTS

• LAVA FLOWS
• LAHARS (can bury villages)
• EARTHQUAKES (related to
movement of lava)
• “VOLCANIC WINTER” (causing
famine and mass extinctions)
THE PHILIPPINES’ MOST
NOTABLE VOLCANIC
ERUPTION

MOUNT PINATUBO
JUNE 7, 1991
 TIME LINE 1
• On July 16, 1990, a 7.8 magnitude
earthquake hit central Luzon. Its
epicenter was 100 km NE of Mt.
Pinatubo
• On March 15, 1991, a series of
earthquakes took place on the NW
side of Mt. Pinatubo
 TIME LINE 2

• The earthquakes continued to

increase in intensity for 2 weeks
• On April 2, 1991, small eruptions
began. Hundreds of small
earthquakes were recorded every
day.
MT. PINATUBO: April 1991
 TIME LINE 3
• SO2 emission increased from 500
tons/day on May 13 to 5,000
tons/day on May 28
• The first magmatic eruptions
occurred on June 3
 TIME LINE 4
• The first explosion on June 7
generated a column of ash 7 km
high
• The Philippine Institute of
Volcanology and Seismology
(PHIVOLCS) issued a warning
predicting an eruption within 2
weeks
 The
Eruption
of
Mount
Pinatubo
June 15, 1991
Luzon, Philippines
 SNAPSHOTS IN TIME
BEFORE, DURING, AND
AFTER THE HISTORIC
ERUPTION
 MOUNT PINATUBO FACTS

• Pinatubo had an elevation of 5725

ft (1745 m) above sea level before
the June 1991 eruption, and an
elevation of 5248 ft (1600 m) above
sea level after the June 1991
eruption.

http://volcano.und.nodak.edu/vwdocs/volc_images/southeast_asia/philippines/pinatubo.html
EARLY WARNING AND
EVACUATION FACTS
EARLY WARNINGS WERE SUCCESSFUL

– Warnings issued by PVO (Pinatubo

Volcano Observatory) before the
eruption succeeded in saving many
lives and protecting property.
– Warning issued by Civil Defense and
local officials saved lives.
– Warnings issued by PHILVOCS and
USGS led to total evacuation of Clark
Air force Base (including aircraft).
 EVACUATION
• PHIVOLCS
and USGS
developed
three
evacuation
zones
EVACUATION ZONES
 EVACUATION
• The 10 km and
10-20 km zones
contained 40,000
people
• The 20-40 km
zone contained
331,000 people
• A volcanic alert
system was
developed, with
daily updates
 EVACUATION

• Evacuation
began:
–10 km zone on
April 7
–10-20 km zone
on June 7
–20-40 km zone
on June 14
 The Climactic Eruption
• Large tremors began at 13:42 on June 15
• By 14:30 all seismographs were inoperative
• The most violent phase lasted 3 hours and
generated a 34 km high eruption column
• The ash cloud covered 50,000 sq. miles
 EVACUATION HAPPENED BEFORE DAY
TURNED TO NIGHT
•
 Wednesday,
: 8:15 AM June 12, 1991
A 34-KM-HIGH ERUPTION
COLUMN
 The Climactic Eruption
• Typhoon Yunga hit Lazon on the
same day, obscuring direct view
• The eruption ended 9 hours later
at 22:30
MT. PINATUBO: JUNE 15, 1991
VIEW OF PINATUBO AFTER THE
ERUPTION

Mount Pinatubo, as seen from Clark Air Base runway

AFTER THE ERUPTION

O’Donnell River
 AFTER THE ERUPTION

A house by the Sacobia-Bamban River, Bamban, Tarlac, July 23, 1991.

Nearly 9 m of sediment were deposited during a single lahar event on August 15, 1991

A house by the Sacobia-Bamban River, Bamban, Tarlac, July 23, 1991.

AFTER THE ERUPTION

Sacobia Bamban River

 The Climactic Eruption
• This was the second largest eruption on Earth in
the 20th century; Volcanic Explosivity Index of 6
• Expelled: 10billion tons of magma and
20 billion tons of sulfur dioxide (SO2)
IMPACTS
 LOCAL IMPACTS
• In the first three
months after the
enormous eruption,
>200 lahars occurred
• About 300 people
were killed, mostly by School buried by lahar,
roofs collapsing
under wet ash
• 364 communities and
2.1 million people
were impacted

Church buried by lahar

 LOCAL IMPACTS
• >8,000 homes
completely destroyed
• Pyroclastic flows
filled river valleys
with hot volcanic
rocks, which killed School buried by lahar
vegetation and
rendered land infertile
• The GDP fell by 3% in
1991
• Every rainy season,
lahars return
Church buried by lahar
 GLOBAL IMPACTS
• This was the
largest injection
of aerosols into
the stratosphere
ever recorded
by modern
instruments
SAGE II observations show that aerosols in the
tropics increased by almost a factor of 100
immediately following the eruption, spread to the
Earth’s mid-latitudes three months later, and slowly
decreased over several years.
 GLOBAL IMPACTS
• Aerosols formed a
stratospheric cloud
which reduced
sunlight reaching the
Earth’s surface by up
to 5% for 3 years
• Northern hemisphere
average
temperatures SAGE II observations show that aerosols in the
decreased by tropics increased by almost a factor of 100
immediately following the eruption, spread to the
0.5-0.6 °C Earth’s mid-latitudes three months later, and slowly
decreased over several years.
 SUMMARY
• The evacuation effort organized
by PHIVOLCS and USGS saved
tens of thousands of lives
• This was a great success for
volcanology and the prediction
of volcanic eruptions
• The indigeneous Aeta people
were hardest hit; many were
relocated permanently

• Mt. Pinatubo is now Mt. Pinatubo, 2013

a popular eco-
tourism destination
 TOWARDS DISASTER RISK
REDUCTION FOR VOLCANOES

RISK ASSESSMENT

• VULNERABILITY

• COST
• EXPOSURE
VOLCANIC EXPECTED POLICY
ERUPTIONS • EVENT LOSS ADOPTION
• BENEFIT

•CONSEQUENCES

POLICY ASSESSMENT
MONITORING TECHNOLOGIES
AND WARNING SYSTEMS ARE
A VITAL PART OF SURVIVAL.
MONITORING TECHNOLOGIES