Pinatubo, Mount

Active volcano on Luzon Island, the Philippines, 88 km/55 mi north of Manila. Dormant for 600 years, it erupted in June 1991, killing 343 people and leaving as many as 200,000 homeless. Surrounding rice fields were covered with 3 m/10 ft of volcanic ash.

A survey published in August 2001 found that since the eruption in 1991, Mount Pinatubo's crater had been filling with rainwater, with the level rising at a rate of 10 m/33 ft per year. The crater lake holds around 250 million cubic m/8.8 billion cubic ft of water and was only 4 m/13 ft from the rim. In September 2001, 40,000 people were evacuated while a trench was dug in an attempt to drain the lake. The operation was only partially successful, and approximately 50,000 people remained under threat of rapid flooding.