Mt Pinatubo‘s 1991 eruption was the second largest in the 20th century, 10 times bigger than Mt St Helens.
The ash cloud from the volcano covered an area of some 48,000 sq mi, bringing total darkness to much of central Luzon. Almost all of the island received some ash fall, which formed a heavy, rain-saturated snow-like blanket. Tephra fell over most of the South China Sea and ashfall was recorded as far away as Vietnam, Cambodia and Malaysia.