Catastrophe redux?

Readers are probably familiar with the devastating explosion of Krakatoa in Indonesia in 1883. It killed approximately 40,000 people; the blast was heard as far as 3,000 miles away; and shock-waves from the explosion traveled around the world several times before they died away.




Some years after the explosion (which completely demolished the island), new land began to emerge from the sea. The locals named it Anak Krakatau ('Child of Krakatoa'). It's been growing ever since, and is now several hundred feet high - with an active volcano of its own.




With the recent earthquakes in Indonesia, and the feared-imminent eruption of the Merapi volcano there, it seems Anak Krakatau is stirring ominously. The Jakarta Post reports:

“Usually Mt. Anak Krakatau experiences an average of 90 to 100 small scale eruptions a day. Now, the number of eruptions can reach 700 a day,” Andi Suhardi, head of the Mt. Anak Krakatau observation post in Hargo Pancuran village, said on Monday.

Mt. Anak Krakatau is a volcano located near Krakatau Island between Sumatra and Java.

“Solid material falls on the mountain slopes. However, the sand and volcanic dust can cover greater distances depending on how strong the wind blows,” Andi said.

He added that Krakatau’s volcanic activity has been increasing slowly since last Monday, reaching almost 90 eruptions per day. Activity further escalated after Mt. Merapi in Central Java erupted, he said.

A day before the latest eruption, authorities raised the alert status for Mt. Anak Krakatau and advised people to stay at least several kilometers away. “We advise fishermen and tourists not to come within a radius of 3 kilometers of Krakatau. The thick plumes of smoke sent off by Krakatau contain toxic material that is hazardous for your health,” Andi said.

Although Mt. Krakatau’s rumblings increased after Mt. Merapi’s eruption, volcanologists claimed that no link existed between the active volcanoes. “No connections exist between the two because they both have their own magma pockets,” Agus Budiyanto, head of the volcano observation team at the Center of Volcanology and Geological Mitigation Agency (BPVMG) in Bandung, West Java, said.

Lucas Donny Setijadji, a volcanologist from Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta, said that the weak, local seismic tremors produced by Mt. Merapi’s eruptions lacked sufficient energy to trigger volcanic eruptions elsewhere, including at Mt. Krakatau.

However, there was a possibility that the eruptions of Mt. Merapi, and Mt. Krakatau were triggered by tectonic movements caused by the Mentawai earthquake, he said.

A 7.2-magnitude earthquake epicentered near South Pagai in the Mentawai Islands regency, rattled the region last Monday and generated a 2-meter tsunami that killed 449 people.

There's more at the link. Here's video from November 1st, 2010 showing Anak Krakatau in eruption.

I hate to think how much damage would be caused by a modern catastrophe of the magnitude of Krakatoa's 1883 eruption . . . but it's not inconceivable. I certainly won't plan on going anywhere near the area until things settle down!

Peter