Indonesia’s angry ‘Child of Krakatoa’ rumbles on

JAKARTA: The volcano that triggered a deadly tsunami in Indonesia late Saturday emerged from the sea around the legendary Krakatoa 90 years ago and has been on a high-level eruption watchlist for the past decade.

Anak Krakatoa (the Child of Krakatoa) has been particularly active since June, occasionally sending massive plumes of ash high into the sky and in October a tour boat was nearly hit by lava bombs from the erupting volcano.

Experts say Anak Krakatoa emerged around 1928 in the caldera of Krakatoa, a volcanic island that violently erupted in 1883.

With subsequent lava flows it grew from a submarine setting to become a small volcanic island, with the cone now standing at an altitude of around 300 metres above sea level.

Since its birth, Anak Krakatoa has been in a ‘ state of semicontinuous eruptive activity’, growing bigger as it experiences eruptions every two to three years, volcanology professor Ray Cas from Monash University in Australia told AFP.

“Most of the eruptions are relatively small on the scale of explosive eruptions ... and there’s also eruptions that produce lava flows,” he added.

Cas said the latest event appeared to be ‘a relatively small explosive eruption’ but could then have triggered or coincided with a submarine event like a landslide or earthquake, causing the deadly tsunami.

No one lives on the island, but the peak is popular with tourists and is a major study area for volcanologists.

The island is part of the Ujung Kulon National Park, ‘demonstrating on-going evolution of geological processes’, since the Krakatoa eruption, Unesco says on its World Heritage site listing for the area.

When Krakatoa erupted on August 27, 1883 it shot a column of ash more than 20 kilometres into the air in a series of powerful explosions that were heard in Australia and up to 4,500 kilometres away near Mauritius.

The massive cloud of ash plunged the area into darkness for two days.

The dust gave rise to spectacular sunsets and sunrises around the world the following year and disrupted weather patterns for years.

The tsunami triggered by the eruption killed more than 36,000 people in one of the world’s worst natural disasters.

Indonesia’s proximity to the junction of three continental plates, which jostle under immense pressure, makes it particularly vulnerable to earthquakes and eruptions.

The archipelago nation has nearly 130 active volcanoes, forming part of the Pacific ‘Ring of Fire’ – an arc of intense seismic activity that stretches from quakeprone Japan through Southeast Asia and across the Pacific basin. — AFP

Most of the eruptions are relatively small on the scale of explosive eruptions ... and there’s also eruptions that produce lava flows. Ray Cas, Monash University volcanology professor

A man stands among ruins after a tsunami hit at Carita beach. — Reuters/AFP photos

Officials look through the wreckage of damaged buildings in Carita.

Debris from damaged buildings are seen on a street on Carita beach.

Anak Krakatoa emerged from the ocean a half century after Krakatoa’s deadly 1883 eruption. – AFP file photo by Ferdi Awed

Residents inspect their damaged homes in Carita.

Residents collect debris from their collapsed house.

Injured residents are treated outside a health center.

The aftermath of the tsunami is seen in Banten.

The aftermath of the tsunami in Banten.