Mount Pinatubo’s eruption on June 15, 1991

Where does this kind of event occur?

Volcanic activity occurs at two types of plate boundaries: mid-ocean ridges and
subduction zones. At mid-ocean ridges, basaltic eruptions produce new sea-floor crust.
These underwater eruptions don't produce big mountainous volcanoes, which is why
they are often overlooked as the most volcanically active features on Earth. Commonly,
basalt is erupted at mid-ocean ridges as blob-shaped "pillows." These pillows form
when basalt is suddenly quenched as it comes into contact with sea water. If you cut a
pillow in half, you'll find a glassy rind around the outside, where the lava cooled so fast
that it couldn't form any crystals. Inside the pillow will be a crystalline matrix of cooled
basaltic lava.

What causes the natural phenomenon?

When the pressure within the magma chamber is greater than the strength of
the crust, it begins to break through.
Magma rises to the Earth’s surface for a combination of reasons. Inside the
magma chamber there are a number of gases that are mixed with the magma.
Just like a carbonated drink, the bubbles of gas rise to the surface of the
magma chamber, pushing against the Earth's crust.
Another reason an eruption can occur is simply an overload of magma in the
magma chamber. Once the chamber is filled to capacity, an eruption is sure to
occur.

How much warning is there?

Normally, the source of eruption warning should be the entity tasked to study and
monitor active volcanoes. In the case of the Philippines, this entity is PHIVOLCS. But
when Mount Pinatubo started showing signs of restiveness in April 1991, PHIVOLCS
had no monitoring at the volcano and, hence, no warning system for the area.

Consequently, it was not PHIVOLCS that recognized the first signs of volcanic unrest
but, rather, indigenous Aetas who lived on the slopes of the volcano. Some of these
Aetas, members of Lubos na Alyansa ng mga Katutubong Ayta sa Sambales (LAKAS)
(Negrito People's Alliance of Zambales), reported their observations to PHIVOLCS
through Sister Emma, a sister of the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary (FMM) who was
doing missionary work among the Aetas.

Upon receipt of the LAKAS report, PHIVOLCS immediately began to monitor Pinatubo
and, thenceforth, became the principal source of warnings. Details of the monitoring
activities and chronology of preeruption events are given by Sabit and others (this
volume) and Wolfe and Hoblitt (this volume); details of preeruption warnings are given
by Punongbayan and others (this volume). Those warnings provided enough lead time
for the beleaguered inhabitants to pack up and run away from the volcano.

Can it cause damage to people and environment?

If so what sort of damage can it cause?

Volcanic eruptions can be extremely damaging to the environment, particularly because of a number
of toxic gases possibly present in pyroclastic material. It typically consists mainly of water vapour,
but it also contains carbon dioxide and sulphur dioxide gas. Other gases typically found in volcanic
ashes are hydrogen sulphide, hydrogen chloride, hydrogen fluoride, carbon monoxide, and volatile
metalchlorides.

Carbon dioxide emitted from volcanoes adds to the natural greenhouse effect. Sulphur
dioxides cause environmental problems, because they are converted to sulphuric acid
in the stratosphere; the main cause of acid rain. Furthermore, sulphate aerosols are
formed, which reflect solar radiation and absorb heat, thereby cooling the earth.
Sulphate aerosols also take part in chemical reactions, forming ozone destructive
material.

Plants are destroyed over a wide area, during an eruption. The good thing is that
volcanic soil is very rich, so once everything cools off, plants can make a big comeback!

Livestock and other mammals have been killed by lava flows, pyroclastic
flows, tephrafalls, atmospheric effects, gases, and tsunami. They can also die from
famine, forest fires, and earthquakes caused by or related to eruptions.

Aquatic life can be affected by an increase in acidity, increased turbidity, change in

temperature, and/or change in food supply. These factors can damage or kill fish.

Eruptions can influence bird migration, roosting, flying ability, and feeding activity.

How are different people (e.g, students, farmers, labors, and office employees)
affected when a natural event strikes your community? Who would be most
affected?

A natural disaster is defined by the UN as: “the consequences of events triggered by

natural hazards that overwhelm local response capacity and seriously affect the social
and economic development of a region.” In other words, if an earthquake takes place on
an uninhabited island and no one is affected, it is not a natural disaster. In order to be a
disaster, people must be affected. Similarly, if flooding takes place in an area where
there is adequate preparation, it probably isn’t a natural disaster. If a similar level of
flooding, however, takes place in an area where there isn’t preparation and crops are
ruined and people are forced to abandon their homes, it then can be a natural disaster.
Similarly, heavy rainfalls occur in many parts of the world. Normally, they are not natural
disasters, but when the rainfall is heavier than usual and when precautions have not
been taken, a natural disaster can result. The rainfall itself is not the disaster, but rather
the consequences of the rainfall.

Does a reported natural phenomena affect people all the time?

The largest volcanic eruption in recent history, the blast of Mount Pinatubo in the
Philippines, affected climate around the world, causing temperatures to drop and Asian
rain patterns to shift temporarily. 
That eruption occurred 20 years ago this month. And unfortunately, volcanic eruptions
like it will be difficult to predict, although larger events with much greater impacts on
climate will likely come with more notice.
If Pinatubo sticks to its record — its prior eruption occurred about 500 years ago — we
won't have much to worry about for a while, according to Richard Hoblitt, a geologist at
the United States Geological Survey's Cascades Volcano Observatory.
"It's most likely that it's going to stay in repose again for hundreds of years," Hoblitt
said, "but there's always a possibility that it can deviate from that pattern. These
volcanoes are not metronomes; they tend to vary on a theme. Though we don't expect to
see one again in our lifetime, it's not impossible."
The Pinatubo eruption pushed an umbrella-like cloud of rock, ash and gas more than 22
miles into the sky above the Philippines, and planet-cooling aerosols left by the gas
lingered in the air around the globe for as long as three years.

How strong are the most damaging events? List five examples
Deccan Traps – Deccan Plateau, India – about 60 million years ago

The Deccan Traps are a set of lava beds in the Deccan Plateau region of what is now
India that cover an area of about 580,000 square miles (1.5 million square kilometers),
or more than twice the area of Texas. The lava beds were laid down in a series of
colossal volcanic eruptions that occurred between 63 million and 67 million years ago.

Yellowstone Supervolcano – northwest corner of Wyoming, United States – about 640,000

years ago

The history of what is now Yellowstone National Park is marked by many enormous
eruptions, the most recent of which occurred about 640,000 years ago, according to the
United States Geological Survey. When this gigantic supervolcano erupted, it sent about
250 cubic miles (1,000 cubic kilometers) of material into the air. The eruptions have left
behind hardened lava fields and calderas, depressions that form in the ground when
material below it is erupted to the surface.

Thera – island of Santorini in the Aegean Sea - sometime between 1645 B.C. and 1500 B.C.

While the date of the eruption isn't known with certainty, geologists think that Thera
exploded with the energy of several hundred atomic bombs in a fraction of a second.
Though there are no written records of the eruption, geologists think it could be the
strongest explosion ever witnessed.

Mount Vesuvius – Pompeii, Roman Empire (now Italy) – 79

Mount Vesuvius is a so-called stratovolcano that lies to the east of what is now Naples,
Italy. Stratovolcanoes are tall, steep, conical structures that periodically erupt
explosively and are commonly found where one of Earth's plates is subducting below
another, producing magma along a particular zone.

Laki – Iceland – 1783

Iceland has many volcanoes that have erupted over the course of history. One notable
blast was the eruption of Laki volcano in 1783.

The eruption freed trapped volcanic gases that were carried by the Gulf Stream over to
Europe. In the British Isles, many died of gas poisoning. The volcanic material sent into
the air also created fiery sunsets recorded by 18th-century painters. Extensive crop
damage and livestock losses created a famine in Iceland that resulted in the deaths of
one-fifth of the population, according to the Smithsonian Institution's Global Volcanism
Program.

How big should a natural phenomenon for it to be considered a

hazard? Does size even matter?
Natural Hazards are events that are part of the dynamic processes of the Earth.
However, when natural hazards adversely affect people then they become natural
disasters. 
Natural disasters are catastrophic events that are extreme and usually sudden. They
not only can cause millions of dollars in damage, but they can also cause a lot of death
and devastation. The number of reports of natural disaster has significantly increased
over the last several years. It appears that the World has recently come under “attack”
from several different types of natural disasters.
Ref; http://questgarden.com/100/81/2/100411200745/

Why do people live in areas affected by a natural hazard?

 people decide where to live in part based on how much trust they have in their public
officials. If they trust the public officials and disaster managers in a particular
community, they are more likely to continue living there after a disaster, because they
believe the managers will do a good job in future crises.

This trust is continually built (or eroded) based on the performance of public officials in
emergencies. The more positive contact people have with public officials, the more
likely they are to trust them to do their jobs. Receiving aid swiftly from temporary
distribution centres, or getting help over the phone from aid personnel, increases our
trust in the people and agencies supplying that aid.

This means that people tend to have higher trust in their local officials, with whom they
are more likely to come into direct contact. Even if trust declines in national officials due
to their behaviour or performance, it will not influence someone’s choice of where to live
if they believe their local officials will still do a good job in future crises.

So though it is somewhat counter-intuitive, I found that even after incredibly destructive

disasters, good experiences with public officials actually strengthen citizens’ resolve to
live in threatened areas.

How could people prevent disasters when a natural hazard strikes?

• As much as possible, stay away from active volcanoes.

• If you live near an active volcano, keep goggles and a mask in an

emergency kit, along with a flashlight and a working, battery-operated
radio.