Pinatubo Acting Up Anew? Aetas report fireballs, other strange phenomena

CLARK FIELD, Pampanga — Is Mt. Pinatubo acting up anew?

Aetas living on Pinatubo’s slopes in Pampanga and Zam—bales have reported unusual phenomena in their mountain communities, including rumblings, fireballs and apparent snake migration, giving rise to fears that the volcano, whose devastating eruption in 1991 is regarded as one of the most powerful in recent times, could again explode.

While volcanologist Jimmy Sincioco here said that a sensitive seismograph some five kilometers from the volcano’s crater has not registered any volcanic activity recently, he is verifying the Aetas’ claim that they have observed balls of fire and have heard rumbling sounds in Barangay Nagsasa in San Antonio, Zambales.

In Barangay Kamias in Porac, Pampanga, Aetas have reported an apparent migration of an unusual number of snakes.

Manny Garcia, a member of the Kamias Development Program who has been staying in Kamias since 1985, said Aetas in the resettlement have been feasting on large snakes everyday. Snakes are a favorite delicacy of the natives.

"No one has yet evacuated. What we know is that such an unusual movement of snakes was not observed before the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo in 1991 and so we think there is something unusual that makes them migrate," he said.

Sincioco, however, said the rumbling sounds could be attributed to other factors such as hot springs. "The seismograph on the northeast slope of Mt. Pinatubo may be in the area of Tarlac but it is quite sensitive and even capable of monitoring strong earthquakes in other countries," he said.

He said he had inquired from officials of Botolan town in Zambales, where the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) dug up a channel late last year to allow the smooth flow of Pinatubo’s huge crater lake, and got no feedback about any unusual phenomena at the volcano.

Sincioco, however, said that in San Antonio, Zambales, municipal administrator Noel Manzano reported to him that Aetas from Pundakit town have also been claiming that they have been observing balls of fire and hearing rumbling sounds.

He said rumbling sounds and sulfuric stench were among the first indications of the Pinatubo’s eruption in 1991.

He, however, downplayed fears that the volcano is erupting again. The Phivolcs earlier said it is not expected to erupt anew in the "present generation."

"It is unlikely that volcanic activities would be observed in the lower slopes since such activities manifest themselves first in the upper sections of the volcano," Sincioco said.

The Phivolcs’ seismograph on the upper portion of Mt. Pinatubo did not record any unusual activity, he said.