Remembering Mt. Pinatubo

The National Geographic Channel recently showed a documentary on the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo. For the first time, I saw what conditions were like during and immediately after the eruption. I had an idea that it was horrible because some of my college classmates had to relocate from Pampanga to Tarlac. I just did not think that there would be so much volcanic ash that afternoon looked like night.

Then again, maybe I forgot what it was like because it happened more than half a lifetime ago. I remember that on the day of the eruption, my sister and I were going to the mall to celebrate her thirteenth birthday. We were both freshmen who just left home, me for college, she for high school. I wanted her birthday to be a happy one even if it was just the two of us celebrating it.

We went back to our respective dorms and found all our things covered with dust. We had to sweep the floor, buy new bed sheets, and wipe everything with damp cloth. Outside, it was rainy, gloomy, and gray. The windshields' wipers of vehicles seemed no match for the volcanic ash mixed with rain.

One of the most dramatic footages from the National Geographic documentary is the convoy of American military vehicles fleeing Clark Airbase in Pampanga as the volcano erupted. People were shown covering their faces with cloth and holding umbrellas above their heads, their efforts to keep the volcanic ash away from their faces and bodies looking so futile.

I visited Clark Airbase recently and imagined how chaotic the evacuation must have been. The wide avenues and concrete buildings built by the American military are still there, reminders that Clark used to be one of the biggest military bases outside the United States.

I suppose it is the volcanic ash from Mt. Pinatubo that continues to make structures in Clark look permanently dusty, even newly-painted ones. When I first visited Clark in 2001, I thought it looked desolate. At that time, I could not understand why the government would want to market it as a leisure site and economic hub. I still do not understand why it continues to do so now. The place still looks desolate even with the addition of new structures designed to bring it back to life.

    I suppose that was the impetus for choosing Clark as the site of the 1998 Centennial celebrations when Clark Expo was built. The structure is still there, like an insult to Filipinos whose basic need for food, clean water, and a decent home are not met. I went inside and saw the chairs covered with bird droppings. Paint is peeling off the buildings. I have a vague memory of a tv variety show being held there but wonder what else it is used for.

The only things I like about Clark are its huge trees. Volcanic ash must have covered their trunks because they look too short for the width of their trunks. Their roots are not visible. They must be hardy because they managed to survive the eruption.

I like to imagine that natural disasters are nature’s way of giving man a chance to start over. Starting over need not mean insisting on continuing the way of life prior to the disaster. It could also mean just letting the trees grow and allowing the dust to settle.

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