The response and recovery procedures surrounding the management of the June, 1991 eruption of Mt. Pinatubo were particularly significant as this was the largest volcanic disaster in history to effect a densely populated area (3). The volcano was formed on the island Luzon in the Philippines which by the time of the eruption had accumulated a population of around 1,000,000 people in just the region surrounding Mt. Pinatubo (2). Furthermore, an estimated 15,000 people lived on the volcano’s flanks and the largest U.S. military base in the Philippines, Clark Air Base, was within 25 km of the summit (1)(2). Actions that took place pre and post eruption helped to minimize its devastating effects. The FEMA Recovery Continuum presents 4 phases of disaster management. Predictably, the first phase is dedicated to “pre-disaster preparedness” and lists broad actions and preparations that should be actualized in order to reduce the harmful effects of the eruption. The second point under this phase is “mitigation planning and implementation.” In the case of the Mt. Pinatubo, the partnership of scientists from the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and the U.S. Geological Survey allowed for an accurate prediction of the time and magnitude of the eruption (3). Aircraft operators were warned about the extreme damage to planes in the area that could be caused by the ash clouds following the eruption. Even jets that weren’t in the proximity of Mt. Pinatubo sustained a cumulative $100 million in damages (3).

ABOVE: Effects of ash fall on a commercial jet

A hazard map of the predicted, post-eruption lahars was also immediately drawn up (1). The ensuing infrastructure preparations and government-organized evacuation of around 200,000 people are estimated to have prevented the loss of 5,000 additional lives and $250 million in damages (3). The evacuation and immediate housing of the evacuees falls under phase 2 of the FEMA Recovery Continuum entitled “short-term recovery.” Also included in this second phase are actions that promote the speedy reopening of relevant businesses. Farming sugar cane and rice is one of the prominent businesses in the area and one of the notable immediate responses was that of the many civil engineers who tried to isolate lahar sediment deposits that threatened to bury the agricultural fields (1).

ABOVE: Effects of ash fall at Clark Air Base

As late of 2005, resettlement camps were still housing some of the indigenous people who lived on the slopes of Mt. Pinatubo. This care falls under “intermediate” and “long-term recovery” in FEMA’s response continuum. There has been significant, permanent change to the region surrounding Mt. Pinatubo as thousands of people were permanently displaced, many agriculture fields indefinitely disabled, and the citizens that have returned home still face threats of small, residual lahars from the 1991 eruption (3).

ABOVE: A resettlement camp for evacuees of the Mt. Pinatubo disaster

Link to informative YouTube video with great images of ash fall effects: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lf1PWap_GTw

References:

Newhall, C. Stauffer, Peter H. & Hendley, James W. “Lahars of Mount Pinatubo, Philippines.” U.S. Geological Survey Fact Sheet 114-97. Last modified: 2005 Wolfe, Edward W. “REPORT: The 1991 Eruption of Mount Pinatubo, Philippines.” Earthquakes and Volcanoes, v. 23, no. 1. 1992 Newhall, C. Stauffer, Peter H. & Hendley, James W. “The Cataclysmic Eruption of Mount Pinatubo, Philippines.” U.S. Geological Survey Fact Sheet 113-97. Last modified: 2005 FEMA Recovery Continuum from the FEMA National Disaster Recovery Framework