NEWSPAPER REPORTS OF THE DAY

AVALANCHES and mud- slides unleashed by Mt. Pinatubo threatened early this morning to bury alive more than 2.5 million residents of 22 towns and two cities in Zambales, Pampanga, Tarlac and Bataan.

      The government warned that of the threatened places, at least six towns faced the highest risks of being buried in mudslides from the tons of debris piled on the volcano.
      The six were San Marcelino, San Antonio, San Narciso, San Felipe, Botolan, and Castillejos - all north of the Subic Naval Base in Zambales.
      Pinatubo exploded 10 times yesterday, ejecting columns of ash and steam up to 30,000 feet into the sky, as eruptions entered their third week.
      Nearly 2,000 US servicemen and their families who fled the Subic and Clark bases arrived by ship in Cebu to board flights for the United States.
      Concern over mudslides has mounted with the arrival of the rainy season. Scientists say ash and debris up to 200 meters deep are piled on the steep ravines on the western slopes of the 4,795ft volcano.
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      Sunday with President Corazon Aquino and promised to provide satellite pictures so local officials can better identify towns at risk from mudslides.
      Yesterday, US officials delivered a letter to Aquino from President George Bush, who expressed "heartfelt sympathy" for victims of Pinatubo.
      The death toll from the volcanic eruptions climbed to 317 as eight more bodies were found beneath rubble in Zambales, and three people were killed when a local market collapsed near Clark.
      Julio Sabit of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said scientists were unable to predict when the eruptions would cease.

      Some estimates of indicate the volcano could erupt periodically for the next three years.
      US spokesmen said Clark Air Base, an important logistics and training center for the Pacific, would be shut for six, months although most services at Subic could be restored within two to ...(missing)
      The amphibious assault ship Peleliu arrived at Subic yesterday carrying fresh water and other equipment to repair the base, US Navy spokesman Lt. Cmdr. Kevin Mukra said.
      In Olangapo, residents reported flooding after rains washed volcanic ash into city sewerage systems. Water was reported knee deep in some neighbourhoods.
      Meanwhile, food supplies for some 1,500 evacuees housed at the Roces Vocational High School in Quezon City have begun to dwindle, a barangay captain told People's Tonight.
      A one-year-old boy and a 60-year-old man were rushed yesterday to the Quezon City General hospital suffering from dehydration and high blood pressure, respectively.
      Dr. Joaquin Torres

......(missing).... especially among children.

      Dr. Ruth Manas said many of the refugees complained of weakness due to the scarcity of food.
      Ben Ocampo, chieftain of a group of Aeta evacuees, said they are bored of eating plain rice and kamote all the time.


By: EFREN MONTA....
   JO GALANG...

> Note by web page author   Steve Innes,  (my apologies to the above named reporters- their names were truncated when clipping the article from the Newspaper.) <