The Day It Rained Sand

By Awake! correspondent in the Philippines

SATURDAY, June 15, 1991, will be a day hard to forget for most residents of central Luzon. Incredible as it may seem, this was the day when sand fell like rain on the lush green hills and paddy fields of Pampanga, Tarlac, and Zambales provinces in the Philippines. What actually happened on that day and how it affected the more than two million residents of this area, including some 2,900 Jehovah’s Witnesses, is both heartbreaking and intriguing.

Few lives were lost, since early warnings were given by volcanologists monitoring the seismic activities of Mount Pinatubo. Thousands of aboriginal Aeta tribespeople had left the mountainside before the main eruptions of the volcano occurred, and all residents within a 12-​mile [20 km] radius of Mount Pinatubo were urged to seek safety in other areas. Just two days before the first large eruption on June 12, the U.S. Air Force evacuated the majority of their personnel from Clark Air Base at the foot of Mount Pinatubo to the naval base near Olongapo City, the largest such operation since World War II. High marks for the warnings were given by professional geologist Richard J. Purser when he wrote an open letter to the Filipino people, saying: “You have been well served by Phivolcs [Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology] so far and their advice has been clear and rational and scientifically correct.”

Eyewitness Account

Esther Manrique, a full-​time minister of Jehovah’s Witnesses living in Subic, Zambales, about 20 miles [30 km] from Mount Pinatubo, gives her account of what it was like to live through the days when it rained sand. She states: “It all began on Wednesday morning, June 12. As we went out in the ministry, most people were gazing at an amazing sight. A cloud, mushroom-​shaped, like an atom-​bomb explosion, formed above Mount Pinatubo. After a few minutes, it began to rain​—but not water; instead, grains of sand fell.

“Thursday it again rained sand. On Friday afternoon at about two, a sudden darkness fell, and sand and mud rained all over the area. Employees and schoolchildren were immediately sent home. Those who walked without an umbrella looked like walking rocks because of the sand and the mud.”

Saturday morning at about seven, the sky became dark for about an hour. Celestino Layug of Porac, Pampanga, spoke of an unusual phenomenon he observed that night: “The lightning on Saturday night was like nothing I had ever seen before. Red and rose colors were seen besides the usual white and bluish shades. At the same time, earthquakes were repeatedly felt.”

What Had Happened

Geologist Richard Purser wrote: “If Hollywood was writing the script no one would accept the scenario of 10 large eruptions, 3 tectonic earthquakes and a strong typhoon in the same night as being plausible. Truth can indeed be stranger than fiction.” In a television interview, the director of Phivolcs, Raymundo Punongbayan, estimated that based on the size of the crater, about half a cubic mile [2 cu km] of volcanic material had been spewed into the atmosphere.

What was the force needed to move this huge amount of material? Geologist Purser said: “The energy required to move 2 billion cubic meters [70 billion cubic feet] (5 billion tonnes) an average of 17.5 km [11 miles] straight up is equivalent to a 25 megaton nuclear weapon (1,500 times as powerful as the Hiroshima bomb).”

Of course, not all the ash and sand fell in the Philippines. Light ash-​falls were reported across the South China Sea in Vietnam and Cambodia as well as in Singapore and Malaysia. Even in China, weather conditions were affected. “Meteorologists quoted in the official [Chinese] press on Wednesday said smoke, ash and atmospheric gasses had disrupted normal weather patterns, leaving lush southern provinces facing drought while torrential rains lashed the north.”

In Hawaii, July 11 was to bring a long anticipated solar eclipse. However, the fine dust accumulating in the earth’s atmosphere as a result of Mount Pinatubo’s eruption led to disappointment on the part of some scientists. Donald Hall, director of the Institute for Astronomy at the University of Hawaii, said: “It’s just heartbreaking that after being dormant for 600 or 700 years, the volcano didn’t wait another week or two before erupting.”

The Effects and Relief Given

At least 18 towns and 2 cities close to Mount Pinatubo suffered sustained ash and sand fallout. Thousands of buildings, including eight Kingdom Halls of Jehovah’s Witnesses, were extensively damaged when roofs collapsed under the weight of sand, as well as water from a typhoon.a The president of the Philippines, Corazon Aquino, in her state-​of-​the-​nation address on July 22, explained: “The eruption of Mount Pinatubo is the biggest in this century. . . . It is so devastating it knocked off 80,000 productive hectares from our agriculture, and destroyed the commerce of at least three provinces. . . . It was an event so powerful it wiped out the largest military base in the Pacific.”

Thousands, including hundreds of Jehovah’s Witnesses, had to flee their homes and livelihoods. As the first calls for help came into the branch office of the Watch Tower Society late on June 15, refugee centers were set up in nearby Kingdom Halls and two Assembly Halls. Monday morning, June 17, saw two teams of Witnesses from the branch office begin an inspection tour of the devastated areas. When their reports were received the following day, traveling ministers were instructed to make more extensive visits to the affected Witnesses, bringing them additional supplies of food, water, and medicine. At the same time, relief funds were being received at the branch office from Witnesses in the Metro Manila area as well as other parts of the country not affected by the eruption. Individuals who were not Jehovah’s Witnesses noticed the aid given. One person was heard saying: “You Witnesses are really thoughtful, responding at once.”

Lahars​—A Constant Danger

The population of central Luzon quickly added a new word to their vocabulary, lahar, meaning a mudflow containing much volcanic debris. Mount Pinatubo embraces the headwaters of no fewer than 13 streams and rivers. Even though it is not a very high mountain, only 5,770 feet [1,760 m], the accumulation of some 70 billion cubic feet [2 billion cu m] of sand and ash on its slopes would prove to be devastating to the areas located along the rivers. Actually, on Saturday, June 15, the day of the largest eruption, mudflows had already swept through Porac, Guagua, Bacolor, and Angeles City. The lahar coming down the Abacan River in Angeles City knocked out three bridges and closed the vehicle expressway, while in Bacolor the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses as well as hundreds of residences were filled with mud. As of the end of July, over 36,000 homes had been destroyed and another 61,000 damaged, with no end in view.

While the devastation to the area affected is tremendous and the potential threat of further destruction great, the remarkable spirit of the Filipino people in facing such adversity with composure is commendable. The Manila Bulletin, in its editorial of June 29, 1991, commented: “Despite the fact that no one expected the Pinatubo eruption, the people in the area, the government agencies and the public seem equal to the challenge. As in the last earthquake, what we are witnessing is the ability of our people to face adversity. We can only admire their courage and fortitude.”

[Footnotes]

[Maps on page 15]

(For fully formatted text, see publication.)

PHILIPPINES

China

[Map]

PHILIPPINES

Mount Pinatubo

Olongapo City

Manila

South China Sea

[Pictures on page 16]

Kingdom Hall roofs collapsed under the weight of ash, sand, and rain