The European Parliament,

A. concerned at the disastrous effects of the numerous eruptions of the volcano Pinatubo between 9 June and 7 July 1991 on the island of Luzon (Philippines), killing 343 people and injuring hundreds more,

B. whereas the effects of the eruptions were aggravated by earth tremors and typhoon Yunya, causing showers of ash and severe flood damage,

C. having regard to the enormous material damage caused by the disaster (for example, villages buried and bridges and dams destroyed) which covered large areas of farm land with volcanic ash and caused damage estimated by the Philippines authorities at more than ECU 500 million,

D. having regard to the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of people within a radius of 40 kilometres of the volcano, in particular from the towns of Angeles, Olongapo and San Fernando,

E. whereas the disaster has driven more than 200 000 people, mainly the poor, from their homes with the loss of all their goods and has rendered thousands of hectares of farmland unusable for many years to come,

F. having regard to the emergency evacuation of 15 000 airmen and members of their families from Clark airbase, probably as a result of a nuclear alert,

G. having regard to the emergency aid of ECU 300 000 provided by the Commission on 24 June 1991 to help the people affected,

1. Expresses its solidarity with the people of the Philippines at this difficult time and calls on the international community to increase its efforts to provide effective aid;

2. Calls on the Commission to evaluate, in cooperation with the Philippines authorities, the technical and financial aid requirements, notably in respect of food, clothing, housing and infrastructure;

3. Calls on the international community to undertake further scientific studies to improve volcanic eruption warning systems and to prevent the effects such eruptions have on the surrounding population;

4. Expresses its concern at the potential danger represented by nuclear power stations and the storing of nuclear arms in areas subject to natural disasters, such as volcanic eruptions and earthquakes;

5. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission, the Council, the Secretary-General of the United Nations and the Government of the Philippines.