Zambales folk flee villages

BOTOLAN, Zambales — Almost 40,000 people fled from villages near Mt. Pinatubo yesterday as workers prepared to breach the volcano’s crater to drain a lake that could unleash mass floods on the area.

Dozens of Army trucks, dump trucks and buses lined up to take villagers of Botolan town, up to 40 kilometers from the volcano, to evacuation centers far from a possible deluge of mud and water as workers crack the crater this morning.

Loaded vans, cars, tractors and carts pulled by carabaos also trailed out of Botolan for fear the crater breaching could bury the town and nearby villages in up to four meters of debris.

Farmer Nestor Dial, 43, loaded a carabao-drawn cart with four goats, piles of taro root and tied his horse to the back.

"I’m bringing all of my farm animals out of here because they could be destroyed," he said.

Ghost towns

As of press time, at least 18 barangays have become virtual ghost towns. Botolan Mayor Roger Yap said more than 7,600 families have been brought to evacuation centers in Iba, Cabangan and San Felipe towns.

The 18 barangays are San Juan, Paudpod, Danacbunga, Carael, San Miguel, Batonlapoc, Paco, Capayawan, Banga, Beneg, Porac, Tampo, Taugtog, San Isidro, Mambog, Parel, Santiago and Bangcal.

In recent weeks, workers dug a canal to within five meters of a rapidly rising volcanic lake that threatens to collapse Pinatubo’s crater and flood villages.

This morning, workers plan to use pressurized water to blast away the remaining bit of earth, draining 25 percent of the scenic lake.

Chris Newhall, a volcanologist of the United States Geological Survey, is helping supervise the breaching.

Raymundo Punongbayan, director of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs), cited a "20 percent chance of the worst-case scenario" in which the crater breaching unleashes a violent surge of water that could collect mud and bury villages.

Any slide could travel the 40 kilometers to Botolan in an hour and a half, he said.

He said the water would likely follow the path of the Bucao River, which winds through Botolan and many villages, until it reaches the South China Sea.

Ideally, he said, the breaching will slowly release water from the volcano and follow the path of the Bucao River, posing no threat to nearby villages.

He said he believes this is the first time a volcano crater has been breached this way to bleed off rising water.

Secondary blasts

Punongbayan said secondary explosions could be generated on the slopes of Pinatubo as the water comes in contact with still hot pyroclastic deposits.

The crater lake has been rising in the May-October rainy season and could shatter the upper walls of the 4,740-foot volcano if the water isn’t drained, geologists said.

Despite flood threats, some residents vowed to stay behind to guard their homes and businesses.

"I cannot leave," said Arcie Dantik, 31, who works on a fishpond near the Bucao River and the water’s likely path. "This is P200,000 worth of (fish). What if looters strike? I don’t think the water will really inundate this place. If it will, well, there are many trees around."

He placed a bamboo ladder, electric cable and an inner tube beside a tall pine. If necessary, he said he will climb it and lash himself to the tree. If the water rises above the tree, he said he will use the inner tube to swim away.

Other fishpond workers in the area said they had prepared similar measures.

Ester Fulgar, the leader of the 2,000-member Carael village beside the river, said 500 men will stay behind to guard their houses.

Fulgar said the men plan to climb onto roofs in case of flooding.

Choppers on standby

Military ground commander Col. John Bolhayon said he has two helicopters on standby to pluck any villagers who refuse to leave and are stranded by rising water.

The search and rescue group of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority has been deployed to assist the evacuation of Botolan residents.

Some 500 policemen from this province and other parts of Central Luzon have also been fielded to help in the evacuation and secure the homes of evacuees. — Ding Cervantes and Bebot Sison Jr.