Pinatubo Flashcards
Where is Pinatubo located?
in the Phillipines
What island is Pinatubo located on?
Luzon
When was Pinatubo’s last eruption?
12th June 1991
What sort of lava flow did Pinatubo have?
andesitic
Describe andesitic lava?
thick and full of gas
How does andesitic lava effect eruptions?
Makes them more explosive
At what speed did pyroclastic flow descend from the crater?
20kmph
How far up was a cloud of steam and gas sent?
30km up into the atmosphere
What type of volcano is Pinatubo?
composite
What is the main way that the effects of the eruption were mitigated?
volcanologists predicted the eruption so advanced warnings allowed 1000s of people to evacuate the area
How many homes were damaged?
70,000
How were power supplies, roads and bridges effected?
they were left unusable
What happened to the water supply?
It became contaminated
What other natural disaster hit at the same time as the eruption?
Typhoon Yunya
Where were many people displaced to?
Shanty towns on the edge of Manila
How did the gas cloud dispersion affect the world globally?
global temperature dropped temporarily(1991-93) -0.5 degrees Celsius
What happened in the evacuation camps?
hundreds of people died from diseases (mainly measles, pneumonia and diahorrea)
How much area of rice fields did the ash cover?
800km2
What was closed and moved to singapore?
US air force base
How did the US air force base moving affect the Filipino population?
many Filipinos lost their jobs and local trade suffered great loses
What does PHIVOLCS stand for?
Philippine institute of volcanology and seismology
What did the seismologists detect in March 1991?
they detected swarms of earthquakes beneath Pinatubo which indicated that magma was on the move
What was the response to the detection in 1991?
-helicopters with gas monitoring equipment flew over the crater daily
-tiltmeters were installed to monitor the deformation of the surface as magma rises
What happened when warnings were issued?
-local people evacuated
-vaccinations given to combat measles and flu
-international emergency aid provided for after the eruption+lahar
How did Luzon authorities convert the US air base?
they converted it into Clark International Airport
How many people does Clark international airport now employ?
47,000
What are some long term initiatives that the Luzon authorities have established?
- dykes + dams to protect against lahars and flash floods
What did the gas cloud contain?
10mil tonnes of sulphur dioxide
