Catastrophe: Surviving the Volcano (#63226 / RT: 50:06)

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Standards & Practices Notes:
Rating:
Slates or Disclaimers:
Other Notes: Dead bodies

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TRANSCRIBERs NOTE: Every post transcript is proofed at several stages in an attempt to ensure accuracy. However,
NG Research should conduct a final review to verify overall content and make corrections as necessary. Particular
attention should be paid to all spellings, technical references, jargon, character identification, dialogue, capitalizations
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any questions @ [email protected] -- Tx much, Carly

NOTE: BELOW IS A LIST OF NAMES AND REFERENCES AS THEY APPEAR IN THIS POST TRANSCRIPT:
Mount Pinatubo / Filipinos /Aetas / Flor Dela Cruz / Apo Mallari / Sister Emma Fondevilla / Dr. Ray Punongbayan / Chris
Newhall / Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology / Clark Air Base / Mauna Loa and Kilauea / Krakatoa /
Armero in Colombia / Mount Nevado del Ruiz / Angeles City / Beng Mendoza / July Sabit / Jing Magsaysay / Sebio /
Maurice and Katia Krafft / lahars / Peejay Delos Reyes / Leyo Bautista / Hiroshima / Ron Rand / typhoon Yunya /

Catastrophe-Surviving
Volcano-#63226
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Catastrophe: Surviving the Volcano (#63226 / RT: 50:06)

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TELEVISION & FILM

Producer / Writer: Gareth Harvey

Program Researcher: J.W. Sacks

television presentation National Geographic Society

VIDEO

AUDIO

00:00:00:01 VS volcanic eruption

(Music up)

Narr:
A volcano blows itself apartblasting its way into history
with unimaginable force.

Narr:
It will prove twice as catastrophic as the eruption that
buried the ancient city of Pompeiiten times the size of
Mount Saint Helensthe largest volcanic eruption ever
filmed.
01:00:22:14 People take refuge in cave
Narr:
And one of the most destructive of all time.

Narr:
Back to eruption

Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines, June 15, 1991.

VS people in cars trying to flee

Narr:

eruption

And caught in this cataclysm of naturemen and women

who will live or die by their science...or their faith.

Narr:
Their lives measured in secondsagainst an attack the
Eruption

earth has taken centuries to prepare.

01:00:46:12 Back to refugees in cave

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Catastrophe: Surviving the Volcano (#63226 / RT: 50:06)

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television presentation National Geographic Society

AUDIO
Narr:
Eruption /

Men and women who will discover both how small they

Survivors in cave amid dead bodies

are...and how big they can be...when faced with a

catastrophe.

To black
01:00:56:14 2S mtn. range
Narr:
Deep in the dark heart of the Philippines lies a small an
undistinguished peak.
01:01:04:09 VS mtn. peak
Narr:
Once it was a volcano.one of the biggest the world has
ever seen.

Narr:
But for five centuries, Mount Pinatubo has been dormant
01:01:15:09 VS city traffic
Narr:
ignored by the hundreds of thousands of Filipinos in the
towns and cities that have grown up in its shadow.

01:01:24:20 Tribal music, dancing

(Tribal music)

Narr:
But for an ancient people living high on its slopes, the
mountain is sacred.
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Catastrophe: Surviving the Volcano (#63226 / RT: 50:06)

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television presentation National Geographic Society

AUDIO
Narr:
The Aetas celebrate and worship Mount Pinatubo.

01:01:38:03 As above
Narr:
Like all her tribe, Flor Dela Cruz believes that Apo Mallari
Z/I on mtn. peak

the god of all thingslives inside the mountain.

(Music change)

Flor Dela Cruz VO to Sync (translated):

Flor on-cam.

It is our responsibility to look after the mountain, defend it

and care for it.

Flor Dela Cruz (translated):

It is holy because we believe it is Apo Mallaris home.
01:02:03:13 Mtn. peak: 3D animation
Narr:
Travel deep u/g, reveal magma

But stirring deep within Pinatubo is not a god, but a molten

monster.

Narr:
Cracks are opening in the bedrock of the mountain...and
miles beneath the earths crust lies the cause...a colossal,
churning sea of magma...superheated molten rock.

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television presentation National Geographic Society

AUDIO
Narr:
Titanic forces are at play...but far above, on the fragile surface,

01:02:28:10 VS lava @ surface

few have any idea they are living on top of a volcano.

Narr:
Thenon the morning of April 2, 1991comes the first
Steam vents above ground

warning of an apocalypse.

Aerial of steam
Tribal people
01:02:42:20 Back to exploding steam /

Narr:
A series of small explosions rock the remote summit of

2S tribal people react, run

Pinatubo.

Narr:
WS steam plume P/O

But the Aetas are the only people to see the explosions and
the plumes of steam.

Narr:
As above, reveal kids looking, pointing Pinatubos warning has no witnesses except those who
worship it.

Flor Dela Cruz Sync (translated):

01:03:01:11 Flor on-cam.

The people were terrified when they saw the explosions on

the mountain.

Flor Dela Cruz VO (translated):

2S red skyline

Catastrophe-Surviving the Volcano-#63226

No one knew what was happening.

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Flor Dela Cruz VO (translated):

That night there was a red light on top of the mountain.

Flor Dela Cruz VO (translated):

It looked like blood was coming out.
01:03:15:16 Re-creation - Flor & Emma set out
Narr:
The next morning, the Aetas describe what they have seen
to a local nunSister Emma Fondevilla.

Narr:
She sets off for the lowlands with Flor Dela Cruz as an
Highway /

eyewitness, determined to report the explosions to the

River per traveling vehicle POV

government authorities.

01:03:33:20 Traveling seq. continues, as bus arrives Narr:

@ institute

They travel to Manila, 55 five miles southpassing from

one world to another.

Narr:
Finally, they come to the Philippine Institute of
Volcanology and Seismology.

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VIDEO

AUDIO

01:03:49:11 Re-creation continues: Inside institute,

Narr:

Emma & Flor walking thru hall /

Sister Emma convinces a skeptical staff to let her and Flor

VS 2 women meet w/ Ray

meet their director: world-renown volcanologist, Dr. Ray

Punongbayan.

Narr:
Ray may be an internationally respected scientist, but hes
working in a Third World country.
01:04:05:27 :Ray listening
Narr:
:Ray w/ graphs in hand /

The few seismographs he has are tied upmonitoring

:CU Flor

another volcano to the south of Manila.

Narr:
:Emma, Z/I /

Why should he heed the fears of a superstitious tribe who

:CU Ray

believe their god is angry?

:More Emma & Flor & Ray

Narr:
Pinatubo awaits his decision.

Narr:
01:04:28:01 Map of Pinatubo, Z/I

VS chopper in flight

If he ignores this warning, he wont get another chance.

(Chopper)

Narr:
Catastrophe-Surviving the Volcano-#63226

He takes
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a fateful
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Narr:
He orders one of his seismic teams to the summit.
01:04:38:27 Steam plumes per chopper POV
Narr:
From the air, they see the smoking vents described by Flor
Dela Cruz.
Chopper team lands
Narr:
Re-enactment seq. continues: VS team

And when they land, the first flickers of their seismograph

collecting seismograph data on ground

tell them something is stirring within this long-dead

volcano.

01:04:53:19 As above
Narr:
Over the next 24 hours, they detect more than 200 separate
earthquakes.

01:05:03:11 Tilt up water to venting volcano

Narr:
Pinatubo is coming to life.

01:05:08:04 2S steam vents

Narr:
The earthquakes could be caused by the geothermal
movement of steam and superheated water.

Narr:
Volcano graphic
Catastrophe-Surviving the Volcano-#63226

But Ray Punongbayans instinct tells him there are other

forces at work...far deeper...far more powerful.

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01:05:21:27 Animation seq.:

Ring of fire to Pinatubo

Narr:
He knows that the Philippines lies on the ring of firea
vast arc encircling the Pacific Ocean...home to most of the
worlds volcanoes.

Narr:
Deciding whether one of themMount Pinatubois
coming to life will be a poker game of science versus
nature, where the stakes are life and death
01:05:41:07 Animation seq. continues:
Show towns, lowlands, military base

Narr:
not only for the 20,000 Aetas living on the mountain
itself, but also for the hundreds of thousands of Filipinos in
the towns and cities of the surrounding lowlands.

Narr:
Andjust 15 miles from the summitthe largest U.S.
military base on foreign soil:

01:05:58:22 Dis. to aerial of air base

Narr:
Clark Air Base

Narr:
Jet takes off R-L

home to 16,000 American servicemen and their families,

and billions of dollars of military hardware.

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AUDIO
Aerial city /

Narr:
In all, nearly a million livesFilipino and Americanwill

Back to venting steam on Pinatubo

depend on Rays ability to out-guess one of the great forces

of nature.

Ray Punongbayan VO to Sync:

01:06:21:15 Ray on-cam.

A volcano is not an enemy or an adversary; its something

that you try to befriend, in fact.

O/S man looking at seismograph data

Ray Punongbayan VO:

And try to understand what it is, what its going to do.

Ray Punongbayan VO:

CUs seismograph activity

Then you have to read the signals properly, and if you fail
to do that, then you lose in the game.

01:06:41:05 Var. volcanic eruptions

(Eruptions)

Narr:
Chopper flies past eruption

Trying to predict a volcanic eruption is not for the fainthearted.

Scientists on site of erupting volcanoes Narr:

It is part-science, part gut-instinct.

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television presentation National Geographic Society

AUDIO
Narr:
Seismographic data

And there are few seismic detectives who can successfully

track these killers from the deep earth.

01:06:57:12 Venting mtn.

VS Ray re-enactor @ office

Narr:
Ray knows that a volcanic eruption cannot be stopped, but
it can be escaped.

VS steaming volcano

Narr:
If Pinatubo is on the boil, it will be his job to say when its
going to blowand he will only get one chance.

01:07:17:07 Tribal people Pan L-R

Narr:
If he calls an evacuation too early, those ordered out of the
danger zone will come back.

Narr:
2S city traffic

And if he calls it too late, hundreds of thousands may die.

01:07:27:10 Back to re-enactment of seismograph

team @ site

Narr:
For days his team tracks the earthquakes swarming deep
beneath the mountain.

Narr:
But their equipment is outdated.

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AUDIO
Narr:
Back to Ray re-enactor @ office

01:07:41:09 Chris re-enactor @ office, talking on

phone

The Filipinos need help, and Ray knows where to find it.

Narr:
Chris Newhall of the United States Geological Survey in
Washington is an old friend, and a volcanologist.

VS high-tech equip.

(Music end)

Narr:
Hes got the high-tech instruments that will help Ray
penetrate Pinatubos secret.

01:07:53:23 VS re-enactment of team arrival

(Music up)

Narr:
On April 23rd, he and a crack team of U.S. scientists join
Rays task force of volcano detectives.

Narr:
Z/I on mtn.

They set up their operations center at Clark Air Base,

within sight of Pinatubos summit.

01:08:08:17 Back to re-enactment team @ work

Narr:
To themas to all who live around itthe mountain looks
just as it has since the time of Columbus.
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AUDIO
Chris Newhall VO to Sync:
We were acutely conscious of the fact that there had been
no eruption at Pinatubo for 500 years.

01:08:23:18 Scenic mtn. valley, P/O

Chris Newhall VO:

And many, many, many people, perhaps even a majority,
doubted that it was even a volcano.

Narr:
Ray and his team know Pinatubo is a volcanobut what
kind and how dangerous?
Fiery volcanic eruptions
Narr:
While some volcanoeslike Mauna Loa and Kilauea in
Scientist @ volcano site

Hawaiirelease free-flowing rivers of lava, the most

catastrophic type of eruptions are explosive.

01:08:48:15 VS ash eruptions

Narr:
Mountain loads of magma that detonate suddenly and
usually without warning.

Narr:
Instead of lava, explosive volcanoes hurl out massive
pyroclastic flowssuper-heated tidal waves of rock and
ash.

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Chris Newhall VO:
It's a hot hurricane or hot blast of rock and ash and gas.

Chris Newhall VO:

And we know enough about pyroclastic flows to know that
virtually nobody survives.
01:09:21:20 Ray & Chris re-enactors @ work Studying materials

Narr:
Ray and Chris study aerial photographs to plot the
footprint of Pinatubos last eruption.

Narr:
Animation

They are shocked by what they see in the maps and the
ancient geological record: an explosive volcano as big as
any in history.

Chris Newhall VO:

I think the "oh, my God" moment came very early.

01:09:44:12 Chris on-cam.

Chris Newhall VO to Sync:

We could see straight away the kind of explosive eruptions
that had occurred in the past from Pinatubo were of the
same order of magnitude as what had occurred at Krakatoa
in 1883.

01:09:57:02 Krakatoa seq.

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Narr:
Krakatoaa remote Indonesian islandblew up in 1883,
and remains the deadliest volcanic eruption in recorded
history.

Narr:
The detonation was heard 3,000 miles away and created a
tsunami 100 feet high that drowned 36,000 people.
01:10:17:10 VS canyon aerials
Narr:
And in Pinatubos eroded canyons, Ray and Chris find
evidence of a Krakatoa-sized eruption.

Narr:
Pyroclastic flows that once incinerated and buried the land
under Clark Air Base.
City aerial, Pinatubo b/g
Narr:
Could it be capable of such a cataclysm again?
01:10:38:01 Seismographic data
Narr:
BCU face

The seismographs trace a veiled but deadly threat.

VS people
Narr:
A million lives hang in the balance.

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Narr:
Steaming volcano

A million unwitting souls dependent on just a few.

To black
01:10:53:13 VS re-enactment of Ray & team @
work

Narr:
Ray and his team are intensely worried about Pinatubos
awesome past.

Narr:
And the seismologists continue to detect clusters of
earthquakes deep beneath the surface.
Tribal people prayer ceremony
Narr:
As Ray weighs the threat, high on the mountain itself, the
Aetas pray to appease the ancient spirit of Pinatubo...the
spirit they call Apo Mallari.
01:11:22:12 VS logging
Narr:
They believe that the reason for his fury is the widespread
logging and geothermal drilling of Pinatubo, which the
Aetas have been fighting for decades.

Flor on-cam.

Flor Dela Cruz Sync (translated):

We did not do enough to defend the mountain.

Flor Dela Cruz Sync (translated):

We let the lowlanders come and try to destroy it.
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AUDIO
Flor Dela Cruz Sync (translated):
That is why Apo Mallari was so angry with us.

01:11:45:08 Back to tribal ceremony

Narr:
But now, the Aetas must choose between their angry god
and their government.
Graphic of evacuation area
Narr:
Ray has ordered an evacuation of the immediate area
around the summit.
01:12:00:10 Evacuation seq.
Narr:
Only the Aetas are effectedbut to them it is heartbreaking.

Narr:
To them, leaving their sacred land also means turning their
backs on their god.

Narr:
From the high slopes, thousands of Aetas begin to trek
down the mountain to resettlement camps in the lowlands.

01:12:24:15 3D mtn. graphic /

Narr:

Re-enactment of tribe walking R-L

But in a remote ravine on Pinatubos southeast faceone

tribe of Aetas has decided to stay...and put their fate in the
hands of Apo Mallari.

Aerial of mtn.

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AUDIO
Narr:

01:12:41:17 Back to re-enactment - VS tribe heads

to cave

Hiding from the army and the air force, whose job it is to
ensure Rays evacuation order is carried out, they seek
shelter in a cave.

Back to volcano team re-enactment

Narr:
But the quakes diminish.

Narr:
Nothing is reading right.

Narr:
Deep beneath the earth, there is now only a sinister silence.
01:13:01:28 WS mtn. above clouds
Narr:
Is Pinatubo just playing dead...or has it settled back into its
centuries-old sleep?
Back to volcano team
Narr:
Has Ray called a false alarm?
City aerial, tilt up to volcano
Narr:
2S huge ash plume

Volcanoes have claimed countless victims in surprise attacks.

01:13:18:25 VS floods & mud

Narr:
But there have also been thousands killed who were
Catastrophe-Surviving the Volcano-#63226

warned,
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but failed
to listen.
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Narr:
01:13:36:10 Rescuers, victims

Nineteen eighty-fivethe city of Armero in Colombia is

buried by a volcanic flow.

Narr:
In the weeks and days before, scientists told those who
lived here that Mount Nevado del Ruiz was going to erupt.
Erupting mtn.
Narr:
But neither they nor their government listened.
01:13:49:14 People reading names from posted lists
Narr:
Twenty-three thousand people died.

Chris Newhall VO:

Nevado del Ruiz is etched onto the mind of every
volcanologist.

(Music end)

01:13:59:04 Chris on-cam. /

More rescuers, victims

Chris Newhall Sync:

It was a terrible tragedy and it was completely avoidable
had people understood what the hazard was that they were
facing.

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(Music

up)

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AUDIO

Chris Newhall VO:

They could have actually walked to safety.

01:14:16:21 VOLCANO MONITORING AND

Narr:

ERUPTION PREDICTION DIVISION Ray Punongbayan is determined not to let that happen in
P/O to Ray & Chris re-enactors

his country.

Narr:
But right, now hes hanging in the wind of skepticism and
outright disbelief.
VS military base
Narr:
The U.S. military command at Clark thinks Ray and his
scientific team are over-reacting.
01:14:32:15 VS Filipino people
Narr:
So do many in the Filipino government, which can illafford a mass evacuation if Ray decides to call it.
Mtn., P/O
Narr:
And as if to spite him and his team, Pinatubo barely stirs
for days.

Re-enactment seq.: 2S Chris on phone,

Narr:

P/O to rest of team

And Chris is fighting his own battle with official skepticism.

01:14:52:08 :More
team in action
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AUDIO
Narr:
Washington is threatening to pull the plug on his teamand
their precious equipmentunless he delivers some clear
answers fast on whether Pinatubo is really going to blow.
Steaming volcano
Narr:
He and Ray have to find some clear evidence that theres
magma rising beneath Pinatubo.

01:15:10:20 Re-enact chopper seq.

Narr:
To find that proof means a risky chopper flight...low over
Pinatubos steaming vents.

Narr:
Steaming volcano

Magma contains highly pressurized sulphur dioxide.

Narr:
Chris re-enactor in chopper

If Chris can find the gas...hes found the magma beneath

the surface.

01:15:27:12 Steaming volcano, Z/I

(Music end)

Radio:
Back to re-enactment inside chopper /

See that first sort of ridge line up there? Ill try and set it

Back to steaming volcano

up so we go right up about there and make a left pass down

to this ridge line here.

Catastrophe-Surviving the Volcano-#63226

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GEOGRAPHIC
TELEVISION & FILM

Producer / Writer: Gareth Harvey

Program Researcher: J.W. Sacks
VIDEO

television presentation National Geographic Society

AUDIO
Narr:
But the chopper is ill-suited to the task...its rotors churn the
Back to Chris re-enactor

air and confuse the detection instruments.

Radio:
Lets drop down a bit.

Narr:
Taking the chopper any lower is dangerousan
unexpected blast of steam could bring them down.

01:15:55:18 Back to steaming volcano

Narr:
But its their only chance of detecting sulfur dioxide.

Narr:
To Chris, its worth the risk.

Back to re-enactment - inside chopper

(Radio chatter)

01:16:11:19 Steaming volcano

Narr:
He finds sulphur dioxide...tons of it...escaping from the
volcanos vents.

Narr:
Theres no way of telling how close the magma is to the
surfacebut the sulphur dioxide is his first real clue that
Catastrophe-Surviving the Volcano-#63226

an eruption
Transcribed on 11/01/2005 23:25:00

could
happen.
Transcribed
by Susan Carly Wells

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TELEVISION & FILM

Producer / Writer: Gareth Harvey

Program Researcher: J.W. Sacks

television presentation National Geographic Society

VIDEO

AUDIO

01:16:30:00 Back to Chris re-enactor in chopper

Narr:
But what he cannot seeor even guess atis the
magnitude of the coming cataclysm.

Animation seq.:

(Music up)

from magma to mtn. ext.

Narr:
A giant white-hot fist is preparing to strike.

Narr:
But little on the surface gives any sign that a megaeruption is brewing.

01:16:48:28 VS daily life activity

(Music end)

Narr:
Pinatubos deadly secret is still hidden from human eyes.

Narr:
And the people of the lowlands are still oblivious to their
peril.

Narr:
What they cannot see, they do not fear.
Catastrophe-Surviving the Volcano-#63226

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GEOGRAPHIC
TELEVISION & FILM

Producer / Writer: Gareth Harvey

Program Researcher: J.W. Sacks
VIDEO

television presentation National Geographic Society

AUDIO
Narr:
Does Ray let them stay...or does he tell them the time has
come to go?

01:17:12:11 To black
Back to Ray & team re-enactment

(Music up)

Narr:
For two weeks, the team at Clark monitors the sulphur
dioxide levels over the summit.

Narr:
For two weeks, they hold steady.

Narr:
Then suddenly, they plummet.

Narr:
Steaming volcano

It can mean only one of two things.

Narr:
Either the magma has subsided and Pinatubo has called off
its attack
01:17:32:05 Canyon aerial
Narr:
or it is blocked and pressurizinga gigantic powder keg
VS Ray & Chris re-enactors
Catastrophe-Surviving the Volcano-#63226

that could blow catastrophically at any moment.

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TELEVISION & FILM

Producer / Writer: Gareth Harvey

Program Researcher: J.W. Sacks
VIDEO

television presentation National Geographic Society

AUDIO
Narr:
Ray has to make the call.

Narr:
Is Pinatubo going up or is it going quiet?

Narr:
It is an awesome choice to make.

Narr:
An eruption could happen in a day...or a decade.

01:17:54:16 Scenic mtn. peak

Narr:
Volcanoes do not keep the time of men.

Chris Newhall VO:

We know the stakes are high.

Chris Newhall Sync:

Chris on-cam.

We dont know how long the fuse is.

(Music end)

Chris Newhall Sync:

You have to work fast.
Catastrophe-Surviving the Volcano-#63226

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GEOGRAPHIC
TELEVISION & FILM

Producer / Writer: Gareth Harvey

Program Researcher: J.W. Sacks

television presentation National Geographic Society

VIDEO

AUDIO

01:18:02:09 Media seq.

(Music up)

Narr:
With the tragedy of Nevado del Ruiz in Colombia haunting
him, Ray decides the moment has come to call his enemys
bluff.
Animation of evacuation range
Narr:
He finally orders a general evacuation of the provinces
around Pinatubo.

Narr:
01:18:24:10 VS Filipino people, evacuations

The call goes out to almost a million people.

Narr:
But is it already too late?

Narr:
Will everyone heed the call?

01:18:39:19 Tilt down trees to family /

VS Beng & family re-enactment

Narr:
On the outskirts of Angeles City, Beng Mendoza is about
to go into labor.

Beng VO (translated):
None of us believed the volcano was going to erupt.
Catastrophe-Surviving the Volcano-#63226

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GEOGRAPHIC
TELEVISION & FILM

Producer / Writer: Gareth Harvey

Program Researcher: J.W. Sacks
VIDEO

television presentation National Geographic Society

AUDIO
Narr:
Neither she nor her family believe what theyre hearing
about Mount Pinatubo.

Narr:
Most days they cant even see it through the tropical haze.

01:18:59:20 Beng on-cam. /

Beng Sync to VO (translated):

Evacuation seq.

The government was telling all of us to evacuate.

Beng Sync (translated):

We could not accept it because we had lived there for so
long, and I was also eight months pregnant.
01:19:14:28 Back to VS air base activity
Narr:
Ordinary Filipinos are reluctant to leave their homes...and
at Clark, the military is even more hardline against the idea
of evacuating the base.
VS aircraft in flight
Narr:
Its commanders are not prepared to cut and run until the
scientists can say for sure when the volcano is going to blow.

Narr:
Aircraft continue to takeoff and land on the remnants of
Pinatubos last eruption as though it never happened.
01:19:40:20 Ray & military re-enactment

Catastrophe-Surviving the Volcano-#63226

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GEOGRAPHIC
TELEVISION & FILM

Producer / Writer: Gareth Harvey

Program Researcher: J.W. Sacks
VIDEO

television presentation National Geographic Society

AUDIO
Narr:
Its a stand-off between the scientists and the soldiers.

Narr:
Chris talking on T.V.

On the bases closed-circuit TVChris Newhall is pressed

for a precise eruption date.

(Music fades)

Chris Sound Bite:

Right now, we cannot see deep enough into our crystal ball
to say for sure one way or the other.

01:19:59:00 Steaming mtn.

(Music up)

Narr:
Seismographic activity

Thenin early JunePinatubo is rocked by a cluster of

mysterious earthquakes.

Narr:
Magma /

If Ray and his team are reading it right, the quakes outline

Mtn. graphic

not a river but a massive sea of magma.

Narr:
01:20:16:02 VS steam eruption

And on June 7th, its immense pressure fuels Pinatubos

first battle cry.

Catastrophe-Surviving the Volcano-#63226

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GEOGRAPHIC
TELEVISION & FILM

Producer / Writer: Gareth Harvey

Program Researcher: J.W. Sacks
VIDEO

television presentation National Geographic Society

AUDIO
Narr:
A twenty-eight thousand foot plume of steam erupts into
the atmosphere.

Narr:
It is Pinatubos declaration of war.

Narr:
The monsters attack has begun.
01:20:30:05 3D animation
Narr:
The lowlands are slowly emptying...but high on the
mountain some plan to stay despite the danger.

Narr:
On Pinatubos west face, just six miles from the summit,
Re-enactment of Sabit & team camp

seismologist July Sabit and his team make camp.

Narr:
Since the first days of the Aetas warning, July has been
Rays eyes and ears, radioing vital seismic data to help him
plot the monsters movements.

01:20:59:05 Sabit on-cam.

July Sabit Sync (translated):

By now, our seismographs were continuously recording so
many tremors that I knew it was going to erupt.

More Sabit & team re-enactment

Catastrophe-Surviving the Volcano-#63226

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GEOGRAPHIC
TELEVISION & FILM

Producer / Writer: Gareth Harvey

Program Researcher: J.W. Sacks
VIDEO

television presentation National Geographic Society

AUDIO
July Sabit VO (translated):
We were at the frontline, but I didnt even think about
getting scared.

July Sabit VO (translated):

What mattered to me was getting the information back to
Ray Punongbayan, so he could warn and evacuate those in
danger.

01:21:17:01 Jing re-enactment

Narr:
At the same mountain campsite is Jing Magsaysay, a
reporter with the Philippines main network.

Jing Magsaysay VO to Sync:

Jing on-cam.

We felt excitement, we felt fear.

Jing Magsaysay Sync:

Um, but we had to do it.

Jing Magsaysay VO:

Back to mtn. team re-enactment

We had to be where we were, to get the story.

Narr:
Hes covered other volcanic eruptions and is confident
hell be able to pull out when the time comes.
01:21:42:26 Z/I on steaming mtn.
Catastrophe-Surviving the Volcano-#63226

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GEOGRAPHIC
TELEVISION & FILM

Producer / Writer: Gareth Harvey

Program Researcher: J.W. Sacks
VIDEO

television presentation National Geographic Society

AUDIO
Narr:
VS cave re-enactment

On and around Pinatubo, fateful choices have been made.

Narr:
And none are more fateful than by a group in a remote
cave high on the mountains southeast face.
01:21:57:03 As above
Narr:
In all, there are 40 families...a whole Aetas tribe...nearly a
hundred people...men ...women ...and children.

Narr:
Some are here to keep faith with their god...some because
they do not want to leave their homes...and some because
they believe that no matter what is coming, they will be
safe in the cave.
01:22:17:00 Re-enactment of Sebio & family
Narr:
A tribesman named Sebio waits...with his wife and young
son...for the judgment of Apo Mallarithe god of Mount
Pinatubo.
Aerial of air base
Narr:
01:22:31:18 Air base evacuation seq.

Ten miles away, the military has finally issued its

evacuation order.

Catastrophe-Surviving the Volcano-#63226

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GEOGRAPHIC
TELEVISION & FILM

Producer / Writer: Gareth Harvey

Program Researcher: J.W. Sacks
VIDEO

television presentation National Geographic Society

AUDIO
Narr:
At Clark Air Base, theyre recording a constant stream of
earthquakessometimes at the rate of one a minute.

Narr:
The pride of the U.S. Air Force is being deserted.

Narr:
Fifteen thousand military personnel and their families leave.
01:22:49:07 Inside hospital
Col. Ron Rand VO to Sync:
Rand on-cam.

We were evacuating people who were on life support.

Col. Ron Rand Sync to VO:

Medical evacuation seq.

We were evacuating infants who were in incubators and

who had tubes attached to them.

01:23:04:12 VS Rand & Ray re-enactment

Narr:
Colonel Ron Rand is one of a core group of officers and
men who will stay to guard the base.

Narr:
Now only they and the scientists remain.

Narr:
The eruption of Mount Pinatubo is no longer a matter of if
Catastrophe-Surviving the Volcano-#63226

but when.
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GEOGRAPHIC
TELEVISION & FILM

Producer / Writer: Gareth Harvey

Program Researcher: J.W. Sacks
VIDEO

television presentation National Geographic Society

AUDIO

Narr:
01:23:22:13 Ray w/ media

And Ray knows that when could be any second.

Narr:
He works around-the-clock...using the media to try to
Tilt down straw roof to people

convince the public of Pinatubos clear and present danger.

Narr:
But he knows his words of warning are not enough.

01:23:34:05 People watching videotape

Videotape Narr:
This program will show you the dangerous behavior of
volcanoes.

(Music end)

Volcano video /

Narr:

Kraffts /

So he calls into service an extraordinary videotape made

by two old friends: legendary volcanologists and

Back to people watching video

01:23:51:08 Back to Krafft ftg.

Catastrophe-Surviving the Volcano-#63226

filmmakers, Maurice and Katia Krafft.

(Music up)

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GEOGRAPHIC
TELEVISION & FILM

Producer / Writer: Gareth Harvey

Program Researcher: J.W. Sacks
VIDEO

television presentation National Geographic Society

AUDIO
Narr:
This astonishing footage has been taken at often terrible
People react to ftg.

personal riskto explain the extreme hazards of a volcanic

eruption.

Back to volcano ftg. ash eruptions,

Narr:

mudflows

Pyroclastic flowstempests of exploding magma traveling

at up to a hundred miles an hour.

Narr:
And laharsterrifying mudflows, like unstoppable torrents
of boiling cement.
01:24:16:10 Back to people watching video
Narr:
The videotape is copied and shown in towns and villages
throughout the Pinatubo region.

Re-create Bengs family watching

Narr:

video / 2S video ftg. of erupting

Filipinos like Beng Mendoza and her family are finally

volcano

convinced of the peril they face.

01:24:32:06 Back to VS Beng family re-enactment

Beng Sync to VO (translated):

What we saw on T.V. made us very scared.

Beng VO (translated):
I saw how many people had been killed by volcanoes and I
was suddenly scared it would happen to me and my family.
Catastrophe-Surviving the Volcano-#63226

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GEOGRAPHIC
TELEVISION & FILM

Producer / Writer: Gareth Harvey

Program Researcher: J.W. Sacks
VIDEO

television presentation National Geographic Society

AUDIO

Beng VO (translated):
Seeing those things was horrible.
01:24:46:02 VS evacuation seq.
(Music end)

Narr:
All across the lowlands, tens of thousands of people join a
vast slow-moving exodus.

Narr:
This time there will be no going back.

01:24:57:26 VS Kraffts filming volcano

(Music up)

Narr:
As their video is being shown around the Philippines,
Maurice and Katia Kraft are in Japan, filming an erupting
volcano there.

VS volcanic eruption

Narr:
They promise Ray theyll join him when theyre done.

Narr:
But on June 2nd, days before they are due to leave for the
Philippines, they are killedalong with 40 journalists
Catastrophe-Surviving the Volcano-#63226

Transcribed on 11/01/2005 23:25:00

when a

Transcribed
Susanan
Carly
Wells
Page 34
of 67
pyroclastic
flow by
takes
unexpected
and deadly
turn.

Catastrophe: Surviving the Volcano (#63226 / RT: 50:06)

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GEOGRAPHIC
TELEVISION & FILM

Producer / Writer: Gareth Harvey

Program Researcher: J.W. Sacks
VIDEO

television presentation National Geographic Society

AUDIO

01:25:27:24 Cloudy sky

Narr:
Ten days later, Pinatubo answers any who may have
doubted it.
Huge ash plume
Narr:
At 8:50 a.m. on Tuesday, June 12th, it launches an
People pointing / 2S ash plume

enormous column of ash 12 miles straight up.

Jing Magsaysay VO:

Now we knew what we were up against.

Jing Magsaysay VO:

People watching from vehicle

Now we knew how huge this thing was.

01:25:51:01 Back to huge ash plume

2S military looking up
Col. Ron Rand VO:
Heres this plumeunlike anything Ive ever seen.

Col. Ron Rand VO to Sync to VO:

Rand on-cam. /

Giant, dark grey, swirling, roiling, boiling, you know, just

Back to ash plume

growing as you looked at it and going like a rocket.

Col. Ron Rand VO:

When I was a young guy in the Air Force, I got a ride in an
F4.
Catastrophe-Surviving
the Volcano-#63226
01:26:10:01 As
above

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GEOGRAPHIC
TELEVISION & FILM

Producer / Writer: Gareth Harvey

Program Researcher: J.W. Sacks
VIDEO

television presentation National Geographic Society

AUDIO
Col. Ron Rand VO:
And we climbed to 43,000 feet and it took us two minutes
and 40 seconds.

Col. Ron Rand VO:

This plume rose 60,000 feet in one minute.

Rand on-cam.

Col. Ron Rand Sync:

As above - Rand looks up

So youre standing there looking at it and it was like this...

01:26:25:13 Back to ash cloud

Narr:
So powerful is the force of the eruption that even its
sound-waves shoot straight up.

(Music end)

Narr:
Those watching on the ground hear nothing.

Narr:
This awesome event takes place in absolute silence.

01:26:44:04 Evacuation seq.

(Sirens / Music up)

Narr:
The Philippine army and air force are still evacuating
Catastrophe-Surviving the Volcano-#63226

Transcribed on 11/01/2005 23:25:00

people

Transcribed by Susan Carly Wells

off the mountain.

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TELEVISION & FILM

Producer / Writer: Gareth Harvey

Program Researcher: J.W. Sacks
VIDEO

television presentation National Geographic Society

AUDIO

Narr:
Theyre finding more and more Aetas.

Narr:
Many Filipinos believe that this is the climactic eruption.

Narr:
This is the big one.
01:27:01:20 VS boiling magma
Narr:
Ray and the team at Clark know something worse.

Narr:
The magma beneath Pinatubo is boiling...gathering
force...but it has not yet reached the surface.
Huge ash eruption, P/O
Narr:
This is not Pinatubos main eruption.

Narr:
This is just the beginning.
To black
01:27:21:19 Fade-in seismographic activity /
2S science team re-enactment

Narr:
For 48 hours near-constant earthquakes swarm ever-closer
to the surface.

Catastrophe-SurvivingBack
the Volcano-#63226
to huge ash

plumeTranscribed on 11/01/2005 23:25:00

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GEOGRAPHIC
TELEVISION & FILM

Producer / Writer: Gareth Harvey

Program Researcher: J.W. Sacks
VIDEO

television presentation National Geographic Society

AUDIO
Narr:
People reaching hand out to collect ash Dense clouds of ash blast from cracks opening in
Pinatubos summit.
More ash cloud
Narr:
The volcano is priming itself for one of the greatest
eruptions ever witnessed.

01:27:42:10 Chopper-rescue seq.

Narr:
On the mountain itself, the Philippines air force is still
rescuing small groups of Aetas.

Narr:
But those being found and flown to safety are telling their
Re-enactment of tribal group traveling

rescuers of others who have stayed...a tribe of Aetas who

R-L

wont come down.

01:27:59:13 VS people on the move

Narr:
On the lowlands, tens of thousands of people are on the
move.

Narr:
With ash billowing down from the mountain, village after
village empties as their inhabitants flee.
Re-enact Beng family amid mass exodus

Catastrophe-Surviving the Volcano-#63226

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GEOGRAPHIC
TELEVISION & FILM

Producer / Writer: Gareth Harvey

Program Researcher: J.W. Sacks
VIDEO

television presentation National Geographic Society

AUDIO
Narr:
Beng Mendoza, heavily pregnant, together with her
husband and her parents, are desperate faces in the mass
exodus.

01:28:17:15 More Beng family amid masses

Beng VO (translated):
It suddenly turned dark and it started raining ash.

Beng VO (translated):
It was hard to accept our fate.

Beng VO (translated):
I was with my husband and my parents, and I was nine
months pregnant, and the road was very rough.

01:28:33:14 Mass exodus continues

Narr:
She may be escaping the volcanobut will her unborn
child survive the ordeal?

Beng VO (translated):
My stomach was becoming tight and hardI thought I
was going to give birth.

Beng VO (translated):
We just prayed that God will not forsake us.

Catastrophe-Surviving the Volcano-#63226

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GEOGRAPHIC
TELEVISION & FILM

Producer / Writer: Gareth Harvey

Program Researcher: J.W. Sacks
VIDEO

television presentation National Geographic Society

AUDIO
Beng VO (translated):
I just prayed that I would deliver my child safelyI had
fears the baby might not make it.

01:28:55:07 Full moon /

Narr:
As night falls, the darkness around Pinatubo is broken by

Magma /

the constant cracks of earthquakes as the sea of magma

Mtn. graphic

builds up unimaginable pressure.

Narr:
Dis. to re-enactment of cave refugees

There are only hours left before the hellfire reaches the
surface and breaks free.

01:29:13:13 Pan base nighttime L-R

Narr:
Just beyond the foothills of Pinatubo, the scientists at Clark
Air Base wait out the night.

VS science team re-enactment

Narr:
The seismographs are steadily warning of a cataclysm even
greater than they have predicted.

Narr:
The tension is intenseeveryone is exhausted.most are
frightened.

Narr:
But none think of leaving.
Catastrophe-Surviving the Volcano-#63226

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Producer / Writer: Gareth Harvey

Program Researcher: J.W. Sacks

television presentation National Geographic Society

VIDEO

AUDIO

01:29:36:25 VS Reyes re-enactor

Narr:
Seismologist Peejay Delos Reyes is scared by what shes
seeing in the seismic readings.

Peejay Delos Reyes VO:

For me, as far as I'm concerned, it was something I had to
do.

Reyes on-cam.

Peejay Delos Reyes Sync:

There was no choice anymore.

(Music end)

Peejay Delos Reyes Sync:

I mean, my kids needed me.

01:29:55:24 Back to Reyes & team re-enactment

Peejay Delos Reyes VO:

But my country needed me more, so there wasn't any
choice.

CU man reading data

(Music up)

Narr:
The minutes tick byit is a countdown to catastrophe.
Catastrophe-Surviving the Volcano-#63226

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N A T I O N A L
GEOGRAPHIC
TELEVISION & FILM

Producer / Writer: Gareth Harvey

Program Researcher: J.W. Sacks

television presentation National Geographic Society

VIDEO

AUDIO

01:30:08:08 Seismograph data goes crazy /

Narr:

Re-enactment team reacts, go to window Thenat 5:55 amthe seismographs go off the chart.

Narr:
It has begun.
Sirens
Narr:
Back to re-enactment team

01:30:21:13 Eruption

What those left at Clark witness is almost beyond imagination.

Narr:
The western horizon is one giant boiling cloud of ash.

Narr:
Pinatubos climactic eruption sequence has started.
Re-enactment team watches
Narr:
Watching in awe, geologist Leyo Bautista understands the
Back & forth b/w eruption & team

danger they now face.

Narr:
Those who have done so much to warn others are now
directly in harms way.

Leyo Bautista VO:

The first thing that came to my mind is I might not see my
family again.
Catastrophe-Surviving the Volcano-#63226

Transcribed on 11/01/2005 23:25:00

Transcribed by Susan Carly Wells

Page 42 of 67

Catastrophe: Surviving the Volcano (#63226 / RT: 50:06)

N A T I O N A L
GEOGRAPHIC
TELEVISION & FILM

Producer / Writer: Gareth Harvey

Program Researcher: J.W. Sacks

television presentation National Geographic Society

VIDEO

AUDIO

01:30:48:04 Leyo on-cam.

Leyo Bautista Sync:

I'd been away for maybe one-and-a-half months already
from my house and from my family and I was wondering
whether I'll have the chance to see them again.

01:31:05:12 Back to eruption

Bicyclist
2S traveling vehicle
Back to eruption
Narr:
For the next six hours, Pinatubo erupts four more times.
01:31:20:20 Blurry view
Ray Punongbayan VO:
Day became night at three oclock in the afternoon.

Ray on-cam.

Ray Punongbayan Sync:

And it seems like its the end of the world.

Dark view per video: JUN 15 1991

Woman VO:
It is noon and it looks like midnight out here. You can hear
the sound of the ash falling.

01:31:39:11 2S eruption
Narr:
Each blast hurls millions of tons of ash into the sky.

Narr:
Massive clouds of poison gas billow into the atmosphere.
Catastrophe-Surviving
the Volcano-#63226
01:31:53:23 VS
raining ash

& rock Transcribed on 11/01/2005 23:25:00

Transcribed by Susan Carly Wells

Page 43 of 67

Catastrophe: Surviving the Volcano (#63226 / RT: 50:06)

N A T I O N A L
GEOGRAPHIC
TELEVISION & FILM

Producer / Writer: Gareth Harvey

Program Researcher: J.W. Sacks
VIDEO

television presentation National Geographic Society

AUDIO
Narr:
Gales of volcanic rock rain down as far as 30 miles away.

Narr:
People on street

The monsters fury is terrifying.

Magma
Narr:
Thenat 1:42 p.m. on June 15th, 1991comes one of the
single most cataclysmic natural events of the 20th century.
01:32:13:21 More magma
Narr:
A release of energy 200,000 times greater than the
Hiroshima atomic blast.

Animation seq. culminates into

Narr:

eruption

A cubic mile, five cubic kilometers, of magma detonates

straight up...reaching the stratosphere in seconds.

01:32:30:15 Travel out to space POV

Narr:
From space, it looks like a vast nuclear bomb has gone off,
blacking out the Philippines and the South China Sea.
2S huge pyroclastic flow
Narr:
Pyroclastic flows thunder for miles in all directions,
expanding as they suck in cold air.
01:32:47:09 Billowing cloud of ash
Catastrophe-Surviving the Volcano-#63226

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Catastrophe: Surviving the Volcano (#63226 / RT: 50:06)

N A T I O N A L
GEOGRAPHIC
TELEVISION & FILM

Producer / Writer: Gareth Harvey

Program Researcher: J.W. Sacks
VIDEO

television presentation National Geographic Society

AUDIO
Narr:
Billowing killer-clouds of superheated ash and rock.

(Music end)

Col. Ron Rand VO:

I think you could light off every bomb and every rocket
People on ground watching, Z/I /

and every explosive man has stored all over the world and

Back to 2S huge ash eruption

I dont know that you would have registered to the earth

what Mother Nature did on that 15th of June.

Col. Ron Rand VO:

It was unbelievable.

01:33:08:26 Animation seq.

(Music up)

Narr:
High on Pinatubo, Sebio and his tribe wait for Apo
Cave re-enactment

Mallaris judgment.

Narr:
The mountain is exploding around them.

01:33:22:21 2S huge ash flow traveling on ground

Narr:
Hurtling toward their cave is a massive pyroclastic flow.

Catastrophe-Surviving the Volcano-#63226

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Catastrophe: Surviving the Volcano (#63226 / RT: 50:06)

N A T I O N A L
GEOGRAPHIC
TELEVISION & FILM

Producer / Writer: Gareth Harvey

Program Researcher: J.W. Sacks
VIDEO

television presentation National Geographic Society

AUDIO
Narr:
Fifteen hundred degrees Fahrenheit...traveling at a hundred
miles-an-hourincinerating everything in its path.

01:33:39:10 Back to cave-re-enactment ash enters

cave, dead people
Narr:
Death whirls through the cavesuffocatingburning alive.

Narr:
But in the aftermath of the inferno, a miracle.

01:34:01:00 Re-creation of surviving Sebio &

family

Narr:
Sebio has survived.

Narr:
So has his wife and son.

Sebio on-cam.

Sebio Sync (translated):

Everyone was crying, screaming and praying to God.

Back to re-enactment
Sebio VO (translated):
We were begging him to spare our lives, especially the
little children.

Sebio VO (translated):
We thought we were all going to die.
Catastrophe-Surviving
the Volcano-#63226
01:34:28:12 Outside
cave

Transcribed on 11/01/2005 23:25:00

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Catastrophe: Surviving the Volcano (#63226 / RT: 50:06)

N A T I O N A L
GEOGRAPHIC
TELEVISION & FILM

Producer / Writer: Gareth Harvey

Program Researcher: J.W. Sacks
VIDEO

television presentation National Geographic Society

AUDIO
Sebio VO (translated):
Outside the cave, I could see trees burning.
Huge ash flow
Sebio VO (translated):
The fire was rolling so fast that everything it touched
burned instantly.

01:34:37:04 Back to cave re-enactment

Sebio VO (translated):
The thunder seemed to be getting louder and louderit
was like there was war going on inside.
Huge ash flow
Sebio VO (translated):
Then the ground started shaking and rocks started to fall
Back to cave re-enactment

inside the cave.

Sebio VO (translated):
Ash fills in cave

Then everything was on fire.

01:34:52:14 Back inside cave, people dying

Narr:
Even as others are dying around him, Sebio is possessed
by a last desperate inspiration.

Narr:
He buries himself, his wife and son in a pile of bat guano.

Sebio Sync (translated):

01:35:04:28 Sebio
on-cam.
Catastrophe-Surviving
the Volcano-#63226

I could
Transcribed on 11/01/2005 23:25:00

feel the Transcribed

fire on my
back.
by Susan
Carly Wells

Page 47 of 67

Catastrophe: Surviving the Volcano (#63226 / RT: 50:06)

N A T I O N A L
GEOGRAPHIC
TELEVISION & FILM

Producer / Writer: Gareth Harvey

Program Researcher: J.W. Sacks
VIDEO

television presentation National Geographic Society

AUDIO

Sebio Sync to VO (translated):

My shirt started to burn and melt and I could feel it
Back to cave re-enactment seq.:

sticking to my skin.

:Sebio & family covered in guano

Sebio VO (translated):
Then I saw a pile of bat droppings on the floor.

Sebio VO (translated):
It was as if somebody was telling me to dig deeper into the
bat guano, it felt cooler.
01:35:24:29 :Sebio & family emerge
Sebio VO (translated):
I covered my wife and child with it and then myself.

Sebio VO (translated):
Thats where we stayed the entire time.

Narr:
Somehow, the guano has protected them from the firestorm.
01:35:37:09 :Dead bodies
Sebio VO (translated):
After the blast, there was the stench inside the cave.

Sebio VO (translated):
The bodies were all charred and burnt.
Catastrophe-Surviving the Volcano-#63226

Transcribed on 11/01/2005 23:25:00

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Catastrophe: Surviving the Volcano (#63226 / RT: 50:06)

N A T I O N A L
GEOGRAPHIC
TELEVISION & FILM

Producer / Writer: Gareth Harvey

Program Researcher: J.W. Sacks
VIDEO

television presentation National Geographic Society

AUDIO
Sebio VO (translated):
The children were all dead, so were the other people.

Sebio VO (translated):
We were the only survivors; nobody else was left.

01:35:54:10 :More dead bodies

Sebio VO (translated):
We looked around and there were dead bodies lying all
around us.

Sebio VO (translated):
A mother here, her husband near her.

Sebio VO (translated):
They were all piled up.

Sebio VO (translated):
01:36:08:28 :Sebio & family

I wanted to cry, but I couldnt because it hurt so much.

Sebio VO (translated):
There were only the three of us alive in the cave.

Sebio VO (translated):
As if we were the only ones chosen by god to live.
01:36:18:15 Ash flow
Catastrophe-Surviving the Volcano-#63226

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Catastrophe: Surviving the Volcano (#63226 / RT: 50:06)

N A T I O N A L
GEOGRAPHIC
TELEVISION & FILM

Producer / Writer: Gareth Harvey

Program Researcher: J.W. Sacks
VIDEO

television presentation National Geographic Society

AUDIO
Narr:
On the other side of the mountain, reporter Jing Magsaysay
Re-enactment: Jing & Sabit & team

01:36:27:00 Huge ash flow

and seismologist July Sabit are about to face the same horror.

Narr:
They see a pyroclastic flow rolling toward themhalf-amile high...scorching...unstoppable

Jing Magsaysay Sync:

Jing on-cam.

From out of nowhere it seems there was this huge dark,

grey cloud coming from the volcano.

01:36:42:21 Back to 2S huge ash flow

Jing Magsaysay VO:

It was terrifying.

Re-enact frantic caravan

Narr:
Frantically, they take to their vehicles...trying to outrun the
inferno whirling toward them.

July Sabit VO (translated):

As we were driving away, we were screaming and cursing.

July Sabit VO (translated):

Tears were streaming down our faces.
01:37:06:03 Re-enactment caravan continues

Catastrophe-Surviving the Volcano-#63226

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Catastrophe: Surviving the Volcano (#63226 / RT: 50:06)

N A T I O N A L
GEOGRAPHIC
TELEVISION & FILM

Producer / Writer: Gareth Harvey

Program Researcher: J.W. Sacks
VIDEO

television presentation National Geographic Society

AUDIO
Narr:
As they speed along the rough jungle track with death at
their heels, one of July Sabits crew tries to record the
Home video ftg. of flow

pyroclastic flow with a home video camera.

Narr:
This is his actual videotape footage.

Narr:
But is he filming their last moments alive?
01:37:22:10 As above
Narr:
The flashes you see on this tape are bolts of lightning
created by the superheated air.

Narr:
Their only hope is to reach higher ground.

Narr:
But if July takes the wrong turn, they will all die.
01:37:45:20 More ash flow
Jing Magsaysay VO:
I looked to my right and I looked to my left, and I see that
the cloud was overtaking us on both sides.

Narr:
Catastrophe-Surviving the Volcano-#63226

Its terrifyingbut,
finally,
they
escape.
Transcribed on 11/01/2005 23:25:00
Transcribed
by Susan
Carly
Wells

Page 51 of 67

Catastrophe: Surviving the Volcano (#63226 / RT: 50:06)

N A T I O N A L
GEOGRAPHIC
TELEVISION & FILM

Producer / Writer: Gareth Harvey

Program Researcher: J.W. Sacks
VIDEO

television presentation National Geographic Society

AUDIO

01:38:13:19 VS huge ash clouds

Narr:
Around Pinatubo and across the northern Philippines, its
as if the underworld has risen.
01:38:28:20 VS eruption
(Music end)

Chris Newhall VO:

The volume of magma erupted, it was about five cubic
kilometers, thats five billion cubic meters.

Chris Newhall VO:

Youre talking about 500 million dump trucks worth of
material.

01:38:50:00 Back to air base

(Music up)

Narr:
Now it is the turn of the scientists and soldiers at Clark to
face this volcanic Armageddon.

VS science team & soldiers inside

Narr:

operations center

They have stayed until the last momentcollecting data

that might help protect man from future eruptions.

01:39:07:11 Evacuation

Catastrophe-Surviving the Volcano-#63226

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Catastrophe: Surviving the Volcano (#63226 / RT: 50:06)

N A T I O N A L
GEOGRAPHIC
TELEVISION & FILM

Producer / Writer: Gareth Harvey

Program Researcher: J.W. Sacks
VIDEO

television presentation National Geographic Society

AUDIO
Col. Ron Rand VO to Sync:
Rand on-cam.

One of the geologists told me, You better have some jam
in your pockets, because were about to be toast.

2S ash
Narr:
Theyve stayed too long.

Narr:
Pyroclastic flows and suffocating ash-storms are sweeping
toward them across Pinatubos killing fields.
01:39:28:12 Evacuation seq.
Narr:
As they take to their vehicles, not a man or woman among
them can forget that Clark itself stands upon the ancient
flows of Pinatubos last eruption.

Narr:
Then, one by one, the field seismographs between them
and the mountain begin going dead.

Peejay Delos Reyes VO:

That was the scariest part for me.

01:39:51:00 Reyes on-cam.

Peejay Delos Reyes Sync:

You can't imagine how it felt like, knowing that you can be
overrun by a pyroclastic flow.

Back to evacuation seq., amid ash

Catastrophe-Surviving the Volcano-#63226

Transcribed on 11/01/2005 23:25:00

Transcribed by Susan Carly Wells

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Catastrophe: Surviving the Volcano (#63226 / RT: 50:06)

N A T I O N A L
GEOGRAPHIC
TELEVISION & FILM

Producer / Writer: Gareth Harvey

Program Researcher: J.W. Sacks
VIDEO

television presentation National Geographic Society

AUDIO
Peejay Delos Reyes VO:
And the only thing that we wanted to do was escape from
Clark Air Base.

Narr:
Blinded by ash and caught in a gale of mud, they drive
west.
01:40:08:05 Re-create Leyo in car traveling seq.
Leyo Bautista VO:
Inside the car, it's like were trapped.

Leyo Bautista VO:

We cant go out.

Narr:
In her car, Leyo Bautista is trying not to panic as she peers
into the impenetrable darkness.

Leyo Bautista VO:

Youre driving at 10 kilometers per hour, very slow.

Leyo Bautista VO:

I realized that if the volcano decides to exert a bigger
eruption, then we are really going to get fried.

Leyo Bautista VO:

Catastrophe-Surviving the Volcano-#63226

Were
Transcribed on 11/01/2005 23:25:00

really going
to die.
Transcribed
by Susan Carly Wells

Page 54 of 67

Catastrophe: Surviving the Volcano (#63226 / RT: 50:06)

N A T I O N A L
GEOGRAPHIC
TELEVISION & FILM

Producer / Writer: Gareth Harvey

Program Researcher: J.W. Sacks
VIDEO

television presentation National Geographic Society

AUDIO

01:40:33:21 Raining ash

Re-create Rand in car traveling seq.

Narr:
Ron Rand loses the rest of the convoy.

Narr:
He is left alone to wonder whats out there.
01:40:43:11 VS raining ash, people
Col. Ron Rand VO:
I mean, it was everything from the utter darkness to the
roaring.

Col. Ron Rand VO:

Rocks and stuff flying all over the place.

Col. Ron Rand VO:

Earth rumbling from continuous earthquakes.

Col. Ron Rand VO:

You were getting pelted by the stuff coming through the
sky.

01:40:57:25 Rand on-cam.

Col. Ron Rand Sync:

I was beginning to think Ive gotthis is a fine mess I got
myself into now, you know?

Back to Rand in car re-creation

Catastrophe-Surviving the Volcano-#63226

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Transcribed by Susan Carly Wells

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Catastrophe: Surviving the Volcano (#63226 / RT: 50:06)

N A T I O N A L
GEOGRAPHIC
TELEVISION & FILM

Producer / Writer: Gareth Harvey

Program Researcher: J.W. Sacks
VIDEO

television presentation National Geographic Society

AUDIO
Narr:
For a harrowing hour, he drives on...trying to find the
convoy.

Narr:
Behind him, pyroclastic flows reach the very gates of the
base.
01:41:15:16 Car traveling seq. continues
Narr:
But by then theyve made it to safety.

Col. Ron Rand VO:

Pinatubo made me realize, you know, there but for the
grace of God go I.

Col. Ron Rand VO:

You know, I could have beenI could have been
swallowed up and gone and nobody would have ever been
the wiser.

01:41:29:25 Rand on-cam.

Col. Ron Rand Sync:

And I wouldnt have been able to tell my wife and
daughter that I loved them again, so...

To black
Flooding ftg.
Narr:
Catastrophe-Surviving the Volcano-#63226

But Pinatubo is not through with the Philippines.

Transcribed on 11/01/2005 23:25:00

Transcribed by Susan Carly Wells

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Catastrophe: Surviving the Volcano (#63226 / RT: 50:06)

Producer / Writer: Gareth Harvey
Program Researcher: J.W. Sacks
VIDEO

N A T I O N A L
GEOGRAPHIC
TELEVISION & FILM
television presentation National Geographic Society

AUDIO

Narr:
This once-in-a-century volcanic eruption is about to be
joined by another elemental force of nature.

Narr:
The catastrophe is far from over.
01:41:50:27 VS people
Narr:
Of the million people once threatened by Mount Pinatubo,
only a few hundred remain in peril.

Narr:
Its slopes and lowlands are almost totally deserted.

Narr:
It seems man will escape the monsters wrath.

01:42:08:22 P/O from ash cloud to city

Narr:
And so he might...but for the volcanos murderous
accomplice.

People activity
Narr:
A super-typhoon named Yunya.
From satellite image to ash plume
Narr:
Catastrophe-Surviving the Volcano-#63226

Transcribed on 11/01/2005 23:25:00

It is an

Transcribed
by Susancoincidence
Carly Wells
Page
57 of 67
incredible
and deadly
of natural
events.

Catastrophe: Surviving the Volcano (#63226 / RT: 50:06)

N A T I O N A L
GEOGRAPHIC
TELEVISION & FILM

Producer / Writer: Gareth Harvey

Program Researcher: J.W. Sacks
VIDEO

television presentation National Geographic Society

AUDIO

Narr:
Racing across the South China Sea, typhoon Yunya reaches
Pinatubo just as the volcano enters its most cataclysmic
phase.

Narr:
It is a one-two killer punchthe worst possible
combination of calamities.

01:42:36:20 Ash, rain, people

(Music end)

Jing Magsaysay VO:

It's unbelievable, it's just simply unimaginable that these
two things can happen at the same time.

(Music up)

Jing Magsaysay VO to Sync:

Jing on-cam.

So you're in the middle of a battle between the forces of

nature and you're right in the middle of it.

01:42:51:28 VS ash, rain, people, mud

Narr:
Billions of tons of ash are caught by lashing winds and
torrential rain, turning the sky above Pinatubo into a
boiling mudstorm.
Catastrophe-Surviving the Volcano-#63226

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GEOGRAPHIC
TELEVISION & FILM

Producer / Writer: Gareth Harvey

Program Researcher: J.W. Sacks
VIDEO

television presentation National Geographic Society

AUDIO
Narr:
To those caught in itits as if concrete is pouring from
the sky.

01:43:06:16 Mudstorm seq. continues

Narr:
House after house, building after building, falls to the
devastating mudstorm.

Narr:
It happens quickly and without warningcrushing those
trapped inside.

Jing Magsaysay VO:

It was too much for any town or any person to take.

Jing Magsaysay VO:

It was just unnatural.
01:43:37:05 VS people & wreckage
Narr:
The scene is being repeated in all the provinces around
Pinatubo.

Narr:
Beng Mendoza fled with her family only days before.

Catastrophe-Surviving the Volcano-#63226

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Catastrophe: Surviving the Volcano (#63226 / RT: 50:06)

N A T I O N A L
GEOGRAPHIC
TELEVISION & FILM

Producer / Writer: Gareth Harvey

Program Researcher: J.W. Sacks
VIDEO

television presentation National Geographic Society

AUDIO
Narr:
Her house lasts barely 15 minutes before collapsing under
its immense load of volcanic mud.

Narr:
The mudstorm will be the catastrophes most immediate
killer.

Narr:
01:44:02:10 Flood & mudflow seq.

But it is not the only one.

Narr:
The torrents of water running off Pinatubo have collected
massive quantities of hot volcanic debris.

Narr:
They are called laharsdense mudflowsand they tumble
over the lowlands like floods of liquid rockcrashing
through townsgrinding everything in their path.

01:44:36:01 Mudflow seq. continues

Narr:
For 15 hellish hours, the monster of Pinatubo hurls
everything it can at the Philippines.

To black
01:44:54:23 Desolate aftermath seq.

Catastrophe-Surviving the Volcano-#63226

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Catastrophe: Surviving the Volcano (#63226 / RT: 50:06)

N A T I O N A L
GEOGRAPHIC
TELEVISION & FILM

Producer / Writer: Gareth Harvey

Program Researcher: J.W. Sacks
VIDEO

television presentation National Geographic Society

AUDIO
Narr:
And when the sun finally breaks through again two days
later, it is shining on another planet.

Narr:
From horizon to horizon, it is a moonscapea lifeless,
black and white world.
01:45:30:15 Huge ash cloud
Narr:
The largest volcanic cloud of the 20th century is circling
the earth...it will significantly alter global temperatures for
the next three years.
01:45:40:13 VS air base aftermath
Narr:
The biggest American military base on foreign soil is
destroyed.

Narr:
Clark will be abandoned by the greatest military power on
earth, beaten by a force more destructive than any human
enemy.
01:45:54:19 VS wreckage & people
Col. Ron Rand VO:
After the fact, we said it was the mother of all eruptions.

Catastrophe-Surviving the Volcano-#63226

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Catastrophe: Surviving the Volcano (#63226 / RT: 50:06)

N A T I O N A L
GEOGRAPHIC
TELEVISION & FILM

Producer / Writer: Gareth Harvey

Program Researcher: J.W. Sacks
VIDEO

television presentation National Geographic Society

AUDIO
Col. Ron Rand VO:
It was the mother of all events any one of us had ever been
through.

Col. Ron Rand VO:

It was huge, it was scary, it was powerful.

Col. Ron Rand VO:

I know it changed the way I thought about the world we
live in.
01:46:20:04 Helicopter in flight
Narr:
H/angle wreckage

Nature did its very worst, but its opponentsmen like Ray
Punongbayan, and the men and women who worked with
himdid better.

01:46:30:23 Recovery & rescue seq.

Narr:
Incredibly, in this awesome natural event, fewer than 300
people lost their lives...when it could have been hundreds
of thousands.

Narr:
It is a victory for man.

Narr:
A human catastrophe was averted.
To black

Catastrophe-Surviving the Volcano-#63226

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Catastrophe: Surviving the Volcano (#63226 / RT: 50:06)

N A T I O N A L
GEOGRAPHIC
TELEVISION & FILM

Producer / Writer: Gareth Harvey

Program Researcher: J.W. Sacks
VIDEO

television presentation National Geographic Society

AUDIO

01:46:51:17 Back to re-enactment of science team

Narr:
Man had never faced an eruption on the scale of Pinatubo
Chopper in flight

armed with the high-tech weapons of the 20th century.

Narr:
But it was far more than just science that saved so many.
01:47:03:18 Tribal people
Narr:
Tribal group entering chopper

It was an extraordinary human effort on every level.

Chris Newhall VO to Sync:

Chris on-cam.

I think that had any one of those elements been missing, we

could have ended up with a major disaster on our hands.

01:47:16:25 VS muddy street activity

Narr:
More than any volcano that went before it, Pinatubo
proved that man can not only accurately predict a volcanic
eruption, but that he can also protect his fellow man from
one of natures most catastrophic events.
01:47:31:05 Tribal people dancing
Narr:
But it also showed that however advanced our scientific
ability may be, we ignore those who best know Mother
Nature at our peril.

Catastrophe-Surviving the Volcano-#63226

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Catastrophe: Surviving the Volcano (#63226 / RT: 50:06)

N A T I O N A L
GEOGRAPHIC
TELEVISION & FILM

Producer / Writer: Gareth Harvey

Program Researcher: J.W. Sacks
VIDEO

television presentation National Geographic Society

AUDIO
Back to Beng & family re-enactment

Narr:
In the aftermath of the eruption, Beng Mendoza gave birth
to a healthy son named Rindy.

01:47:49:28 More flashbacks of main characters

Narr:
July Sabit, Leyo Bautista and Peejay Delos Reyes went
back to work at the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and
Seismology, keeping watch on volcanoes throughout the
country.

Narr:
Chris Newhall continued to work with the United States
Geological Survey but plans to retire in the Philippines.

Narr:
Huge ash flow

Jing Magsaysaylike all those who lived through the

eruptionsays it changed him forever.

Jing Magsaysay VO to Sync:

Jing on-cam.

Pinatubo, in the end, became one of my closest friends, I

think.

01:48:21:15 Back to ash flow, P/O

Jing Magsaysay VO:
It taught me a lot of things.

Catastrophe-Surviving the Volcano-#63226

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Transcribed by Susan Carly Wells

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Catastrophe: Surviving the Volcano (#63226 / RT: 50:06)

N A T I O N A L
GEOGRAPHIC
TELEVISION & FILM

Producer / Writer: Gareth Harvey

Program Researcher: J.W. Sacks
VIDEO

television presentation National Geographic Society

AUDIO
Jing Magsaysay VO:
People pointing up / Back to huge ash

It showed me how meaningful and how meaningless at the

clouds

same time a human being can be.

VS Ray & Chris per re-enactments

Narr:
And Ray Punongbayan, the undisputed hero of what was
one of the greatest eruptions in modern history, retired in
2002.

Ray Punongbayan VO:

The Pinatubo experience is something that you recall with
a smile.

Ray Punongbayan Sync:

01:48:49:09 Ray on-cam.

Its a classic example of how international cooperation

should work when youre responding to disaster.

Ray Punongbayan Sync:

Its a success story.
To black
01:49:02:22 VS tribal people @ cave site Gathering bones, burying them

Narr:
To this day, the Aetas who perished in the cave on the
mountain have remained where they fell...their skeletons
awaiting a reburial.

Catastrophe-Surviving the Volcano-#63226

Transcribed on 11/01/2005 23:25:00

Transcribed by Susan Carly Wells

Page 65 of 67

Catastrophe: Surviving the Volcano (#63226 / RT: 50:06)

Producer / Writer: Gareth Harvey
Program Researcher: J.W. Sacks
VIDEO

N A T I O N A L
GEOGRAPHIC
TELEVISION & FILM
television presentation National Geographic Society

AUDIO
Narr:
But now, Sebio and his people gather their bones and carry
them to their new village, where they are laid to rest in a
tomb sealed with the ashes of the volcano.

Narr:
There is grief, and bitter memories, as the time of their
deaths is remembered...but there is also hope.
01:49:46:06 More tribal people
Narr:
The Aetas people have returned to their sacred land.

01:49:53:23 Scenic mtn. lake

Narr:
Their mountain may have changed, but their god is at
peace again.

01:50:05:11 To black
01:50:05:20 END CREDITS over ftg.
01:50:20:16 To black

Catastrophe-Surviving the Volcano-#63226

(Music end)

Transcribed on 11/01/2005 23:25:00

Transcribed by Susan Carly Wells

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