Operation Fiery Vigil
Encyclopedia
Emergency evacuation
Emergency evacuation is the immediate and rapid movement of people away from the threat or actual occurrence of a hazard. Examples range from the small scale evacuation of a building due to a bomb threat or fire to the large scale evacuation of a district because of a flood, bombardment or...
of all non-essential military and United States Department of Defense
United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...
civilian
Civilian
A civilian under international humanitarian law is a person who is not a member of his or her country's armed forces or other militia. Civilians are distinct from combatants. They are afforded a degree of legal protection from the effects of war and military occupation...
personnel and their dependents from Clark Air Base
Clark Air Base
Clark Air Base is a former United States Air Force base on Luzon Island in the Philippines, located 3 miles west of Angeles City, about 40 miles northwest of Metro Manila. Clark Air Base was an American military facility from 1903 to 1991...
and U.S. Naval Base Subic Bay
U.S. Naval Base Subic Bay
U.S. Naval Base Subic Bay was a major ship-repair, supply, and rest and recreation facility of the United States Navy located in Zambales, Philippines. It was the largest U.S...
during the June 1991 volcanic
Volcano
2. Bedrock3. Conduit 4. Base5. Sill6. Dike7. Layers of ash emitted by the volcano8. Flank| 9. Layers of lava emitted by the volcano10. Throat11. Parasitic cone12. Lava flow13. Vent14. Crater15...
eruption
Plinian eruption
Plinian eruptions, also known as 'Vesuvian eruptions', are volcanic eruptions marked by their similarity to the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79 ....
of Mount Pinatubo
Mount Pinatubo
Mount Pinatubo is an active stratovolcano located on the island of Luzon, near the tripoint of the Philippine provinces of Zambales, Tarlac, and Pampanga. It is located in the Tri-Cabusilan Mountain range separating the west coast of Luzon from the central plains, and is west of the dormant and...
in the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
. This noncombatant evacuation operation
Military operations other than war (US)
American military operations other than war focus on deterring war, resolving conflict, promoting peace, and supporting civil authorities in response to domestic crises....
(NEO) operation resulted in the transfer of roughly 20,000 people from Clark Air Base and U.S. Naval Base Subic Bay back to CONUS
Contiguous United States
The contiguous United States are the 48 U.S. states on the continent of North America that are south of Canada and north of Mexico, plus the District of Columbia....
, by way of Cebu
Cebu
Cebu is a province in the Philippines, consisting of Cebu Island and 167 surrounding islands. It is located to the east of Negros, to the west of Leyte and Bohol islands...
, Philippines. The Commanding General, 13th USAF
Thirteenth Air Force
The Thirteenth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Pacific Air Forces . It is headquartered at Hickam Air Force Base on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. 13 AF has never been stationed in the continental United States...
, was in command of the Joint Task Force.
Timeline of events
- 16 July 1990: a magnitude 7.8 earthquake1990 Luzon earthquakeThe Luzon earthquake occurred on Monday, July 16, 1990, at 4:26 PM local time in the Philippines. The densely populated island of Luzon was struck by an earthquake with a 7.8 Ms...
struck the island of LuzonLuzonLuzon is the largest island in the Philippines. It is located in the northernmost region of the archipelago, and is also the name for one of the three primary island groups in the country centered on the Island of Luzon...
, Philippines. The epicenterEpicenterThe epicenter or epicentre is the point on the Earth's surface that is directly above the hypocenter or focus, the point where an earthquake or underground explosion originates...
was near the town of Rizal, Nueva EcijaRizal, Nueva EcijaRizal is a 3rd class municipality in the province of Nueva Ecija, Philippines. According to the latest census, it has a population of 52,465 people in 10,001 households....
, roughly 60 kilometers from Mount Pinatubo. This earthquake caused a landslide, some local tremors, and a brief increase in steam emissions from a preexisting geothermal areaHotspot (geology)The places known as hotspots or hot spots in geology are volcanic regions thought to be fed by underlying mantle that is anomalously hot compared with the mantle elsewhere. They may be on, near to, or far from tectonic plate boundaries. There are two hypotheses to explain them...
at Mount Pinatubo. - March–early June 1991: magmaMagmaMagma is a mixture of molten rock, volatiles and solids that is found beneath the surface of the Earth, and is expected to exist on other terrestrial planets. Besides molten rock, magma may also contain suspended crystals and dissolved gas and sometimes also gas bubbles. Magma often collects in...
rising toward the surface from more than 32 kilometers beneath Mount Pinatubo triggered small earthquakes and caused powerful steam explosions that blasted three craters on the north flank of the volcano. Thousands of small earthquakes occurred beneath Pinatubo, and many thousands of tons of sulfur dioxideSulfur dioxideSulfur dioxide is the chemical compound with the formula . It is released by volcanoes and in various industrial processes. Since coal and petroleum often contain sulfur compounds, their combustion generates sulfur dioxide unless the sulfur compounds are removed before burning the fuel...
gas were emitted by the volcano. - 7 June 1991: the first magmatic eruptions took place, resulting in the formation of a 660 feet (201.2 m) high lava domeLava dome|250px|thumb|right|Image of the [[rhyolitic]] lava dome of [[Chaitén Volcano]] during its 2008–2009 eruption.In volcanology, a lava dome is a roughly circular mound-shaped protrusion resulting from the slow extrusion of viscous lava from a volcano...
at the summitSummit (topography)In topography, a summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. Mathematically, a summit is a local maximum in elevation...
of the volcano. - 10 June 1991: after receiving final authorization from the Secretary of DefenseUnited States Secretary of DefenseThe Secretary of Defense is the head and chief executive officer of the Department of Defense of the United States of America. This position corresponds to what is generally known as a Defense Minister in other countries...
, all non-essential military and Department of Defense civilian personnel and their dependents initiated land evacuation from Clark Air Base at 0600 local time. This land evacuation brought an estimated 15,000 personnel and several thousand vehicles onto U.S. Naval Base Subic Bay. - 12–14 June 1991: several waves of eruptions generated eruption columnEruption columnAn eruption column consists of hot volcanic ash emitted during an explosive volcanic eruption. The ash forms a column rising many kilometres into the air above the peak of the volcano. In the most explosive eruptions, the eruption column may rise over 40 km, penetrating the stratosphere...
s up to 80000 feet (24,384 m) in altitude and pyroclastic flowPyroclastic flowA pyroclastic flow is a fast-moving current of superheated gas and rock , which reaches speeds moving away from a volcano of up to 700 km/h . The flows normally hug the ground and travel downhill, or spread laterally under gravity...
s (high speed avalanches of superheated gas and tephraTephra200px|thumb|right|Tephra horizons in south-central [[Iceland]]. The thick and light coloured layer at center of the photo is [[rhyolitic]] tephra from [[Hekla]]....
) extending out to 4 kilometers from the summit. These eruptions were accompanied by nearly continuous seismic activityEarthquakeAn earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. The seismicity, seismism or seismic activity of an area refers to the frequency, type and size of earthquakes experienced over a period of time...
and expulsion of huge quantities of ashVolcanic ashVolcanic ash consists of small tephra, which are bits of pulverized rock and glass created by volcanic eruptions, less than in diameter. There are three mechanisms of volcanic ash formation: gas release under decompression causing magmatic eruptions; thermal contraction from chilling on contact...
, tephra, and volcanic bombVolcanic bombA volcanic bomb is a mass of molten rock larger than 65 mm in diameter, formed when a volcano ejects viscous fragments of lava during an eruption. They cool into solid fragments before they reach the ground. Because volcanic bombs cool after they leave the volcano, they do not have grains...
s. - 15 June 1991: the major eruption of Mount Pinatubo occurred, sending ash and tephra over 100000 feet (30,480 m) into the air. Clark Air Base and Subic Bay Naval Station, the two largest U.S. military bases in the Philippines, were heavily damaged by ash from this volcanic eruption. Nearly one foot of ash accumulated on both Clark Air Base and U.S. Naval Base Subic Bay. Many buildings collapsed under the weight of the accumulated ash, and all flight operations were suspended at both bases for many days or even weeks afterwards.
Aftermath
Plinian eruption
Plinian eruptions, also known as 'Vesuvian eruptions', are volcanic eruptions marked by their similarity to the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79 ....
/Ultra-Plinian eruption of Mount Pinatubo was the second largest terrestrial eruption of the 20th century (surpassed only by the 1912 eruption of Novarupta
Novarupta
Novarupta, meaning "new eruption", is a volcano located on the Alaska Peninsula in Katmai National Park and Preserve, about southwest of Anchorage. Formed in 1912 during the largest volcanic eruption of the 20th century, Novarupta released 30 times the volume of magma as the 1980 eruption of...
), and the largest eruption in living memory. The eruption produced high-speed pyroclastic flows, giant lahar
Lahar
A lahar is a type of mudflow or debris flow composed of a slurry of pyroclastic material, rocky debris, and water. The material flows down from a volcano, typically along a river valley. The term is a shortened version of "berlahar" which originated in the Javanese language of...
s, and a cloud of volcanic ash hundreds of miles across. 20 million tons of sulfur dioxide and roughly 11 cubic kilometres (2.6 cu mi) of tephra are estimated to have been ejected in total, which corresponds to a Volcanic Explosivity Index
Volcanic Explosivity Index
The Volcanic Explosivity Index was devised by Chris Newhall of the U.S. Geological Survey and Stephen Self at the University of Hawaii in 1982 to provide a relative measure of the explosiveness of volcanic eruptions....
(VEI) of 6. By contrast, roughly 4 km3 of material was ejected in the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens
1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens
The 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens, a stratovolcano located in Washington state, in the United States, was a major volcanic eruption. The eruption was the only significant one to occur in the contiguous 48 U.S. states since the 1915 eruption of Lassen Peak in California...
; this corresponds to a VEI of 5.
Very few of the estimated 20,000 who left the base ever returned. The vast majority were evacuated to Andersen Air Force Base
Andersen Air Force Base
Andersen Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located approximately northeast of Yigo in the United States territory of Guam....
, Guam
Guam
Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...
and processed for return to the continental United States. This figure includes approximately 5,000 who were evacuated to Cebu City
Cebu City
The City of Cebu is the capital city of Cebu and is the second largest city in the Philippines, the second most significant metropolitan centre in the Philippines and known as the oldest settlement established by the Spaniards in the country.The city is located on the eastern shore of Cebu and was...
on the , , , and twenty other U.S. Navy ships of the task force.
- 22 June 1991: a team of 11 engineerEngineerAn engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,...
s and utility systems specialists from Headquarters Pacific Air Forces (PACAF) and the 554th Rapid Engineer Deployable Heavy Operational Repair Squadron EngineersRapid Engineer Deployable Heavy Operational Repair Squadron EngineersUnited States Air Force Rapid Engineer Deployable Heavy Operational Repair Squadron Engineers units are the Service's equivalent of the USMC Combat Engineers and Navy Seabees....
(RED HORSE) arrived at Clark Air Base to assess the damage caused by Mount Pinatubo to determine the fate of the base. - 12 July 1991, the United States Secretary of the Air ForceUnited States Secretary of the Air ForceThe Secretary of the Air Force is the Head of the Department of the Air Force, a component organization within the Department of Defense of the United States of America. The Secretary of the Air Force is appointed from civilian life by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate...
announced that the U.S. Air Force would leave the Philippines no later than 16 September 1992. - 4 September 1991: a lahar, 20 feet (6.1 m) to 40 feet (12.2 m) high and almost 200 feet (61 m) wide, smashed along the southern boundary of Clark Air Base, sweeping away a security policeman who was subsequently rescued.
- 5 November 1991: the Secretary of the Air Force visited Clark Air Base and paid tribute to the "Ash Warriors", the personnel who had remained throughout the volcanic activity and cleanup.
- 26 November 1991: the American flag was lowered for the last time by the Ash Warriors, and Clark Air Base was turned over to the government of the Philippines, ending over 90 years of US presence at the base.
See also
- List of largest volcanic eruptions
- List of mass evacuations
- List of natural disasters
- Timetable of major worldwide volcanic eruptionsTimetable of major worldwide volcanic eruptionsThis article is a list of volcanic eruptions of approximately at least magnitude 6 on the Volcanic Explosivity Index or equivalent sulfur dioxide emission around the Quaternary period. Some cooled the global climate; the extent of this effect depends on the amount of sulfur dioxide emitted...
External links
- http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/a2/abraham_lincoln.htm
- http://www.peleliu.navy.mil/Content/History.html
- http://www.stripes.com/01/sep01/ed092101f.html
- http://www.history.navy.mil/download/history/part12.pdf
- http://www2.afsoc.af.mil/shared/media/document/AFD-051228-013.pdf