Eruption of Mount Pinatubo Causes Death, Destruction

In the Philippines, volcanic eruptions of Mount Pinatubo killed two Church members and damaged some Church property.

Elder L. Lionel Kendrick of the Seventy, President of the Philippines/Micronesia Area, praised local Church members’ efforts: “We are tremendously pleased with how the members and leaders are responding to this disaster. In many cases, members have been frightened, but they are very ‘up’ and have performed in a remarkable way under very adverse conditions. We have great faith in our members that they will bounce back and get on with their lives.”

After more than six hundred years, Mount Pinatubo erupted on June 9, with other eruptions following over the next few weeks. Thick ash has blanketed the area, which is located approximately fifty miles north of Manila. Seasonal rains and winds are scattering the ash and debris hundreds of miles in all directions. Some ash has even reached Africa.

Benjamin Ravanta Doctolero of the Olongapo Second Ward, Olongapo Philippines Stake, and Jewel F. Celestino of the San Felipe Branch, in the Iba District, were killed in separate incidents when the roofs of their homes collapsed on them. In addition, Elder Kendrick reported that at least thirty member families lost their homes and that many more may have to permanently leave the area due to the fallout and ash.

Following the initial eruption, several Church meetinghouses in the area were used for evacuation shelters. The roof on the stake center in Olongapo sustained roof damage, as did a ward meetinghouse in San Marcelina. Other meetinghouses received minor damage, but the Manila Philippines Temple was not damaged.

Food shipments from the Church were sent from Manila, and the local Church employment office has been assisting those who lost jobs as a result of the eruptions.

Mount Pinatubo, which first began spewing steam in April, has ejected about two billion tons of debris, or ten percent of its reservoir of magma (molten rock), according to Philippine chief volcanologist Raymundo Punongbayan. So far, a total of more than three hundred people have been killed as a result of the eruptions.

At least 30 percent of the cattle in the area have died because volcanic ash has covered the grass they use for food. Many tenant farmers have been forced to leave the area. Thousands of people, including servicemen and women and their families stationed at Clark U.S. Air Force Base and Subic Bay Naval Station, have also been evacuated from the area.