Hot Team: Volcanologists' Good Call In Philippines Saves Lives

Among the Ayta people of Mount Pinatubo it was a portent. A steam cloud that smelled like rotten eggs was rising from the peak.

| 7 min read
mount pinatubo volcano eruption 1991

Register for free to listen to this article
Listen with Speechify
0:00
7:00
Share

Among the Ayta people of Mount Pinatubo it was a portent. A steam cloud that smelled like rotten eggs was rising from the peak, which they called Apo Mallari--"the father of our people." For generations these Filipinos had hunted and farmed its slopes, until strangers came with drills and dug deep holes in the mountain's sides. Now, their "father" was fuming.

On April 4, 1991, a Catholic nun who worked among the Ayta came to Manila, just 54 miles southeast of Pinatubo, and brought word of this steam cloud to Raymundo Punong-bayan, a geologist and director of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS). Punongbayan knew that the Philippine National Oil Co. had been drilling test holes in the Pinatubo area to determine the potential for geothermal electric production.

"So the Aytas believed their god got angry. And we had a hard time convincing people the drilling did not ...

Interested in reading more?

Become a Member of

The Scientist Logo
Receive full access to digital editions of The Scientist, as well as TS Digest, feature stories, more than 35 years of archives, and much more!
Already a member? Login Here

Keywords

Meet the Author

  • Tom Abate

    This person does not yet have a bio.

Published In

Share
3D illustration of a gold lipid nanoparticle with pink nucleic acid inside of it. Purple and teal spikes stick out from the lipid bilayer representing polyethylene glycol.
February 2025, Issue 1

A Nanoparticle Delivery System for Gene Therapy

A reimagined lipid vehicle for nucleic acids could overcome the limitations of current vectors.

View this Issue
Enhancing Therapeutic Antibody Discovery with Cross-Platform Workflows

Enhancing Therapeutic Antibody Discovery with Cross-Platform Workflows

sartorius logo
Considerations for Cell-Based Assays in Immuno-Oncology Research

Considerations for Cell-Based Assays in Immuno-Oncology Research

Lonza
An illustration of animal and tree silhouettes.

From Water Bears to Grizzly Bears: Unusual Animal Models

Taconic Biosciences
Sex Differences in Neurological Research

Sex Differences in Neurological Research

bit.bio logo

Products

Photo of a researcher overseeing large scale production processes in a laboratory.

Scaling Lentiviral Vector Manufacturing for Optimal Productivity

Thermo Fisher Logo
Collage-style urban graphic of wastewater surveillance and treatment

Putting Pathogens to the Test with Wastewater Surveillance

An illustration of an mRNA molecule in front of a multicolored background.

Generating High-Quality mRNA for In Vivo Delivery with lipid nanoparticles

Thermo Fisher Logo
Tecan Logo

Tecan introduces Veya: bringing digital, scalable automation to labs worldwide