PHILIPPINE Institute of Volcanology (Phivolcs) Director Renato Solidum on Wednesday, December 1, 2021, said a massive explosion from Mount Pinatubo, similar to what happened in 1991, is very much unlikely.
Solidum said geologic records show that a large explosion on Mount Pinatubo happens to be a hundred years apart.
"Nung 1991 at 1992 may umakyat talagang magma na umabot sa ibabaw at nung 1991, isinabog ng masyadong malakas. Dito sa nangyayari, wala pang umaakyat na magma tayong naitatala sa kadahilanang ang mga lindol ay masyadong malalim pa mga 10 kilometers or below," he said in a radio interview.
(In 1991 and 1992, magma has risen and reached around the crater, and in 1991, a strong eruption occurred. In the current state of the volcano, we did not notice magma rising, which means quakes are still 10 kilometers deep or even deeper.)
"So kung titignan natin 'yung history, hindi natin inaasahan na magkakaron ng kahalintulad ng 1991 eruption kaagad-agad pero siyempre hindi natin pwedeng tanggalin ‘yung posibilidad na magkaroon ng mga maliliit na explosions kaya patuloy nating binabantayan ito nang mabuti," he added.
(If we look at history, we do not anticipate an eruption like what happened in 1991, but of course, we can't remove the possibility that there will be little explosions. That's why we continue to closely monitor the volcano's activities.)
Solidum said they have yet to monitor any magma activity and other abnormal activities of Mount Pinatubo following a weak explosion recorded there on Tuesday, November 30.
He said Mount Pinatubo remains under Alert Level 0, but he maintained that trips near the volcano’s crater remain to be restricted.