Beauty from the beast

Where were you when the second-largest terrestrial volcanic eruption of the 20th century occurred on the night of June 15, 1991?

I was in my house in Cavite, about 120 kilometers south of Mount Pinatubo, watching television. When I went out to get some fresh air, I saw everything outside starting to get covered with ash fall. I switched to the news channel and learned that Mount Pinatubo had erupted. The images that I saw on television were all disturbing. People living near the volcano were shown covered with ash, and buildings collapsing and roads becoming unpassable from the sea of dust and mud.