Pinatubo Lake to Be Drained

Geologists plan to hack a notch into the crater of Mt. Pinatubo in the Philippines in a dangerous operation to drain a volcanic lake that threatens nearby villages with mass floods, scientists said.

Workers with picks and shovels are expected to climb the 4,740-foot volcano next week to chop 16 feet off the lowest point of Pinatubo’s summit and bleed the crater lake, said Mylene Villegas, head geologist of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology.

If not drained, the weight of the water, rising rapidly in the May-to-October rainy season, could shatter the volcano’s walls and endanger 40,000 nearby villagers, she said.