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PHIVOLCS ALLEVIATIVE MEASURES
TO THE LIFE ENDANGERING
VOLCANIC ACTIVITIES
Abstract
Different forms of volcanic activities have different effects on people residing
near the volcano. Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) has
taken a vital role in our society today and playing a great role in determining the status of
a volcano and on how people can prevent harm to themselves from the effects of the
volcano activities. Although, information are being announced by PHIVOLCS there are
still people who insist not to follow the warnings given by PHIVOLCS.
This thesis aims to show information on how the Philippine Institute of
Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) acts on the different volcanic activities like Volcanic
Eruptions, Lahars, Ballistic fragments, Tephra falls, Lava flows, and Tsunamis seiches.
And how PHIVOLCS manages the safety of the people living near dormant volcanoes.
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The Problem and its Background
Volcanic eruptions are among the dreaded natural disaster in the Philippines.
Testimonies on their destructive power abound in myths, legends, and recorded history.
A volcano may either refer to a vent, hill, or mountain from which emits molten rock
and/or gaseous materials. Volcanoes are formed as a result of tectonic forces. In some
regions, the tectonic plates slide each other; in others. Plates are driven apart; and in still
others, they converge and collide. The Philippines lies in these collision or volcanic
zones.
Of the 220 volcanoes in the Philippines, 21 are considered active. A volcano is
deemed active if it has erupted within historic times. An inactive volcano may show signs
of activity after a long period of dormancy.
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology is a Philippine national
institution dedicated to provide information on the activities of not only on volcanoes but
as well as earthquakes and tsunamis and other specialized information and services
primarily for the protection of life and property and in support of economic, productivity
and sustainable development. It is one of the service agencies of the Department of
Science and Technology. (Disasters The Philippine experience)
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Discussion
PHIVOLCS was formed to mitigate disasters that may arise from volcanic
activities. But why do such events of an eruption manage to kill and injure a great
number of people? Did they do their job properly? Do they have enough budget to buy
the latest equipment to prevent this kind of disasters that time? Did they put enough
attention to the volcanos even if it was dormant for a long time before the eruption?
These are the questions that we want answered and that is why we are conducting this
research.
Volcanic Eruptions
The most popular and well-known eruptions in the history of Philippines is the
Mount Pinatubo and the Mayon volano. Mount Pinatubo which we shall first discuss is
located on the island of Luzon in the Philippines and is part of a chain of volcanoes that
lies on the western side of Luzon in the Zambales mountain range stretching from the
Lingayen Gulf to Bataan. There are also still 22 active volcanoes in the Zambales range
and Mount Pinatubo was hidden among the other surrounding mountains. It didn't ever
get much attention because it was dormant up to 1991 and was not highly visible.
Events Leading up to the 1991 Pinatubo Eruption
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July 16, 1990: An earthquake with the magnitude of 7.8 hit Luzon with the
epicenter located approximately 55 miles northeast of Pinatubo.
March 15, 1991: A series of earthquakes occurred on the northwest side of Pinatubo and
the intensity of these earthquakes continued to increase.
April 2, 1991: Small eruptions of ash and sulfur dioxide started and the earthquakes
continued. This volcanic activity continued to increase until the end of May and then the
emission of sulfur dioxide drastically decreased. This meant the flow of magma was
blocked and a build-up of pressure would result in a large explosion.
June 3, 1991: Eruptions of magma began while ash continued to spew. These eruptions
started to increase in intensity.
June 8, 1991: An explosion-type earthquake occurred in the afternoon and this was the
beginning of intense eruptions that produced large steam clouds, heavy ash and
pyroclastic flows (hot gas and rock, also known as tephra, which quickly travels down
from volcanoes).
June 9, 1991 to June 14, 1991: Eruptions continued along with earthquakes. The ash
fallout was increased and was started to blanket surrounding towns and cities. The ash
plume which also contained pyroclastic materials had reached heights of 15 miles above
the Pinatubos vent. The flow of hot rock and other materials cascading down the slopes
blocked and overflowed rivers and streams. The strong winds blew ash throughout the
Philippines and it traveled as far as Cambodia, Vietnam and Malaysia.
June 15, 1991: Ash and volcanic materials continued to spew and two explosions in the
morning sent pyroclastic flows traveling at fast speeds of 50 mph. Further eruptions
continued and by this time, the ash plume was 30 miles high. At 10:30am, a violent
eruption occurred and it was followed by five more eruptions of equal strength. On the
same day, Typhoon Yunya hit Luzon just north of Pinatubo. This brought strong winds
that blew the ash further and the ash, when mixed with rain, made it extremely heavy.
This caused rooftops on buildings to collapse.
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June 16, 1991: Only minor eruptions occurred and seismic activity subsided.
Aftermath of the 1991 Pinatubo Eruption
There were over 700 deaths and 184 people injured and 23 people never found. Due to
well-organized evacuation efforts, fewer lives were lost. More than 1 million people were
evacuated.
The majority of deaths were caused by collapsing buildings and the death toll would have
lowered if the typhoon had not struck.
Results
Many people who lived on the slopes of Pinatubo never returned because their
land was ruined forever.
The crater on Pinatubo has filled up with water and it is now a large lake. The lava dome
formed an island within the lake.
Although, Mount Pinatubo has become a tourist attraction and visitors to Luzon
are able to take a guided tour to the crater.
Second example
Mayon Volcano is an active stratovolcano. The current cone was formed
through pyroclastic and lava flows from past eruptions. Mayon is the most active of
the active volcanos in the Philippines, having erupted over49 times in the past 400 years.
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On November30, 2006, Typhoon Durian caused mudslides of volcanic ash and
boulders from the slopes of Mayon Volcano, killing an estimated 1,000 and covering a
large portion of the village of Padang (an outer suburb of Legazpi City) in mud up to the
houses' roofs.
Results
The number of dead was at least 1,266 people, about half the death toll of the 1814
eruption. The precise figure may never be known since many people were buried under
the lahars, and entire villages disappeared.
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Review of related literature
Mayon volcano in minor eruption, spews ash
by Katherine Evangelista (12/16/2009)
INQUIRER.net
According to Alanis, although the Mayon volcano is dormat it is very much
active when properly measured
Mayon Volcano experienced a minor eruption Wednesday,
spewing ash reaching up to 500 meters, the Philippine
Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said.In a
telephone interview, Phivolcs Science Research SpecialistPaul Alanis said that the minor eruption was recorded at
around 10:16 a.m.At least 78 volcanic earthquakes were also
recorded in the last 24 hours, Alanis said.Volcanic
earthquakes are normal with the Mayon Volcano even when
there is no alert level raised but only five minor quakes are
recorded on the average,
Alanis said."Ibig sabihin, talagang active ang bulkan ngayon
[This means that the volcano is really active]," Alanis
said.Alert level 3 remains over Albay province, but Phivolcs
may raise it to alert level 5 depending on volcanic activities
like increased siesmic activity, increased emissions of sulfur
dioxide, swelling of the volcano and other physical
manifestations indicating a bigger eruption, Alanis said.
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In other words immediate evacuation is necessary no matter what minor
indications maybe of an eruption, take this other article for example for evacuations.
Mount Pinatubo, Evacuation,
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Pinatubo)
Given all the signs that a very large eruption was imminent,
PHIVOLCS assisted by the US Geological Survey, worked to
convince people in the local area of the severity of the threat. A
false warning might have led to cynicism about any later
warnings but delaying a warning until an eruption began might
lead to thousands of deaths, so the volcanologists were under
some pressure to deliver a timely and accurate assessment of the
volcanic risk.
Three successive evacuation zones were defined, the innermost
containing everything within 10 km of the volcano's summit,
the second extending from 10 to 20 km from the summit, and
the third extending from 20 to 40 km from the summit (Clark
AirBase and Angeles Citywere in this zone). The 10 km and
1020 km zones had a total population of about 40,000, while
some 331,000 people lived in the 2040 km zone. Five stages of
volcanic alert were defined, from level 1 (low level seismic
disturbances) up to level 5 (major eruption in progress). Daily
alerts were issued stating the alert level and associated danger
area, and the information was announced in major national and
local newspapers, radio and television stations, nongovernmenta
l organizations (NGOs), and directly to the endangered
inhabitants.
It is recorded in this article that quick action and predictions of PHIVOLCS and
by the US Geological survey proved to be accurate. The evacuation in the days
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preceding the eruption certainly saved tens of thousands of lives. So PHILVOCS
managed its duties to save many lives as possible, although many have still have died
due to an unforeseen phenomenons accompanying the eruption.
Discussion and Analysis
As previously discussed, not only is an eruption dangerous but as well as the
aftermath effects that are called volcanic phenomenas that are equally devastative.
Take this table for example;
Table. Volcanic Phenomena , Attendance Dangers and Alleviative Measures
SOURCE: DISASTERS AND DEV. BY FREDERICK CURY, 1983
VOLCANIC
PHENOMENA
ATTENDANT
DANGERS/ EFFECTS
PROTECTIVE/
ALLEVIATIVEMEASURES
Ballistic fragments
Tephra falls
Lava flows
Lahars
Landslide
Tsunamis seiches
Bomb impact, Inceneration
Roof collapse, ash asphyxiation, burial,
effects on eyes and respiratory system
Burial, bulldozing, building collapse,mudflows, floods, explosions in water,
fires
Burial of living things, town, andagricultural lands, burning, drowning,
crush injuries, abrasion, impact effects
Burial, abrasion, destruction ofbuildings, infrastructures & agricultural
lands
Drowning, flooding, excessive lateral
force, transport, foundation failure
Restrict from area, use headpadding, take shelter
Use personal covering/facemasks, restrict activity.
Scrape roofs, trees, cleardrains, restrict grazing
animals.Divert by bombing, artificial
channelways or dams, coolwith water
Drian crater lakes, construct
dams, evacuation hills andlahar pockets, revegate and
employ other soilconservation methods.
Issue warning, use landslide
mitigation and controlmethods
Adapt effective warning
system, evacuation, land usezoning, and appropriate
building specs
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As shown is the table complete and thorough safety measures must be observed
and implemented to avoid incoming disasters, So the best thing to work on towards
incase of an eruption is to be prepared of unexpected changes and be one step ahead from
impending danger which would threatened our lives. Evacuate the dangerous areas
affected by the volcanic activity and follow suggested alleviative measures.
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Appendix A
Pinatubo early eruption 1991
One of the early explosive eruptions at Pinatubo after the April 1991 onset of ash
eruptions
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Appendix B
School buried by lahar; photograph taken on October 12, 1991
Rain-triggered lahars at Mount Pinatubo, Philippines
Like thousands of other buildings downstream from Mount Pinatubo, this school house
was buried by a lahar after the enormous eruption on June 15, 1991.
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Appendix C
Tiltmeter (a.k.a. Tilt pot)
A tiltmeter is an instrument designed to measure very small changes from the horizontal
level, either on the ground or in structures. A similar term, in less common usage, is
the inclinometer. Tiltmeters are used extensively for monitoring volcanos, the response
of dams to filling, the small movements of potential landslides, the orientation and
volume of hydraulic fractures, and the response of structures to various influences such
as loading and foundation settlement.
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Bibliography
School buried by lahar; photograph taken on October 12, 1991
Retrieved from:http://images.google.com.ph/imgres?imgurl=http://volcanoes.usgs.gov/Imgs/Jpg/
Pinatubo/30410914_060_large.jpg&imgrefurl=http://volcanoes.usgs.gov/hazards/lahar/rain.php
Pinatubo early eruption 1991
Retrieved from:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Pinatubo_early_eruption_1991.jpg
Mount Pinatubo, Evacuation.
Retrived from:(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Pinatubo)
Mayon volcano in minor eruption, spews ash
by Katherine Evangelista (12/16/2009)
Retrieved from: INQUIRER.net
Tiltmeter (a.k.a. Tilt pot)
Retrieved from:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiltmeter
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