In its wake 847 people lay dead, 184 injured, 23 missing, and more than 1 millon people displaced. Hundreds of millions of dollars in private properties and infrastructure lay in ruins which would require tens of billions of pesos and several years to rebuild. For months, the ejected volcanic materials remained suspended in the atmosphere where the winds dispersed them to envelope the earth, reaching as far as Russia and North America. This phenomenon caused the worldÆs temperature to fall by an average of 1 degree Celsius. Clearly, PinatuboÆs eruption signals the worldÆs most violent and destructive volcanic event of the 20th century.