The island of Krakatau was a time bomb waiting to explode, however no one could have predicted just how destructive it would become.
The destruction of the eruption
According to Dr. George Pararas-Carayannis, it could have been referred to as a “hydromagmatic” eruption. The Tsunami waves reached one hundred and twenty feet, somewhere in the neighborhood of 295 towns and villages were destroyed in the Sunda Strait within one to two hours afterwards. Over 36,400 people were killed, mostly by drowning in the Tsunami. It ripped blocks of coral weighing up to 600 tons and threw them ashore.
The explosion literally destroyed the northern two-thirds of the island. Instantaneously, the collapse and the explosion generated the tsunami. A ship was carried some three kilometers inland by the waves and deposited ten miles above sea level. It ejected about five cubic miles of rock, ash, and pumice.
The strength and power of the eruption
The USNews reported that there had been “repeatedly, massively, and disastrous consequences.” People also described the “atmospheric shock waves that reverberated the world seven times and felt for five days.” This is due to the fact that the power it had was equal to about 13,000 atomic bombs. Think of Hiroshima and the A-bomb we dropped on it multiplied 13,000 times. It was and currently still is the loudest sound recorded in history.
The cause of the historic eruptions
The site Funtrivia gives an excellent explanation of what is actually happening. The island sits on the “ring of fire”. This is an imaginary ring that encompasses the Pacific Ocean with a line of volcanoes that are constantly active. This particular island sits where two tectonic plates meet. These are the Indo-Australian and Eurasian Plates. The Indo-Australian Plate is an oceanic plate that is subducting under the Eurasian Plate, a continental plate. When these two plates collide, the heavier oceanic plate slides under the lighter continental plate.
Interesting facts and effects of the eruption
The world experienced erratic weather and awesome sunsets for months following the eruption.
The volcanic dust acted as a veil filtering the solar radiation reducing sunlight. The skies darkened for days afterward.
Global temperatures, for the following year, dropped 1.2 degrees Celsius on average.
It was the most violent event in modern times and the loudest heard by man over 3,000 miles away.
Birth of a new island
The continuing eruptions of Krakatau under water have created a new island among the former called, Anak Krakatau (child of Krakatau). This island began appearing in the late 1920’s and is continuing to grow.
Krakatau has a history of major and severe eruptions with disastrous effects. With this new little island growing every day, the question remains as to when will the child, Anak Krakatau, erupt and will it be just as disastrous as its parent? We would like to hope not, but history does tend to repeat itself.
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