How Did Mt Pinatubo Occur In 1991

The Mount Pinatubo Eruption in 1991 is largely regarded as the second largest volcanic eruption during the 20th century. Before erupting in 1991, the volcano had been dormant for around 400 years. During the years of 1990 and 1991, there were many events that led to the eruption of Mount Pinatubo. A magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck 100 kilometres north east of the mountain on July 16, 1990. This event is contributed to the reawakening of the dormant volcano which triggered many small earthquakes around the volcano. The actual eruption of Mount Pinatubo didn’t occur until June 15 1991. The volcano is located on the Philippian island of Luzon which is located in the Ring of Fire. In relation to the tectonic plates, it is located on the …show more content…
From July 1990 until the eruption in June 1991, many small earthquakes and explosions of ash occurred in and around the mountain. Vulcanologists began studying the mountain in March of 1991 after earthquakes disrupted the villagers around it. By April, 5,000 people had been evacuated from surrounding areas. On June 5th, more evacuations began to take place with a level 3 alert issued, meaning a possibility of a major eruption. By June 9th, a level 5 alert had been issued with the extrusion of a lava dome. This meant that there was an eruption in progress. 25,000 people were evacuated in an area of 20 km from the mountain. At the time of the eruption, 58,000 people had been evacuated from an area of 30 km from the …show more content…
During the eruption, 5 cubic kilometres of material and gases were released into the atmosphere. By the end of 1991, the volcanic gases had travelled around the world, dropping the temperature by about 0.5°C and causing the ozone hole in Antarctica to become even larger. The ash cloud caused planes and airports all around the world to shut down due to the potential damage that could be caused to the planes. There were jets that still sustained damage that was estimated to be around $100 million. During 1991, 4,979 homes were destroyed and a further 70,257 were damaged due to the heavy ash that mixed with Tropical Storm Yunya which happened to by passing through as the eruption took place. There was an estimated half a billion dollars in property and economic damage which drastically disrupted the economy of Luzon. In 1992, a further 3,281 homes had been destroyed and 3,137 were damaged a year after the eruption had occurred. 200,000 people had been evacuated before the eruption with 20,000 being indigenous highlanders who lived on the slopes of the mountain. Crops were destroyed by lahars and were out of use for years later. 650,000 people lost their jobs as well as electricity being cut off and water becoming