30 years ago, Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines rocked the planet with a series of eruptions. The eruption on 15 June 1991, the largest recorded in the past century, blew ash to Singapore which hung in the air for three weeks.
Recalling the event, Associate Professor Simon Tay, Chairman of the SIIA said, “The TV coverage of the Mount Pinatubo eruption was stark and disturbing – not only the eruption itself, but also the heavy rain and surging mudflows that destroyed so much in their path.”
As the assistant director of the Singapore International Foundation then, he sent a small team of medical volunteers to the Philippines to help. “We are glad to be safe (in Singapore), spared from hardships, but should we be inured to disasters?”
Read more about some Singaporeans’ reflections on the eruption here – https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/environment/when-ash-from-philippines-blanketed-singapore
