The Krakatau in Indonesia, is re-awakened: According to the recent eruption of the volcano, a Tsunami on the beaches of Sumatra and Java has killed several Hundred people. Still bodies are recovered from the rubble. Indonesia mourns its dead, and looks with horror on a volcano that had once triggered in the summer of the year 1883, one of the biggest natural disasters of modern times. At that time, tens of thousands of people died. The French volcanologist Jacques-Marie Bardintzeff, of the Université Paris-Sud explains what to expect from this volcano.
the people in Indonesia Have survived the worst or they must have continued to be afraid of?
The volcano is already since a few weeks active in the last few days it has become more so. The whole edifice of the volcano is unstable, so that in the coming days, once again, a Tsunami can occur. This must not happen, but it is a possibility. Therefore, it is true that the Indonesian colleagues urge now to caution and warn people to go to the coasts. You need to keep from the beach in these areas.
do you Know yet how this Tsunami exactly to come out?
Both seismic as well as volcanic activity can trigger a Tsunami. In the case of Krakatau initially, there was an Eruption that has triggered a landslide on the flank. The masses of rock slipped under the surface of the water and triggered the wave. As this is exactly expired in the Individual, is difficult to say. Perhaps there has been a so-called “phreatomagmatische Explosion”. It arises, for example, when hot Magma encounters the water of the ocean. This produces huge vapor and releases enormous energy. Well possible that parts of the volcanic mountain slid down. It is hard to say what exactly is happening under the water in such moments.
you Can’t warn people against such dangers in a timely manner?
This is really not easy. The distance between the volcano and the beach is very small, we’re talking about 30 to 50 kilometers, as a wave comes so very quickly on the beach, which takes hardly half an hour. Between cause and effect, just a little time. This makes it hard to protect people, especially since such events are very difficult to predict.
Could it be that this volcano, the one they call the “child of Krakatau”, is just erupt disastrous, as then, in the summer of 1883, as the entire mountain exploded, huge Tsunamis on the coasts, met and tens of thousands of people died?
It is impossible to know. Perhaps the Krakatau makes a few more weeks so more like now and then come back for a couple of years to rest. Or not. It can happen again something Similar to 1883. Maybe in a year, in ten years or in a hundred years. We can’t know what all happens in the magma chamber beneath the Krakatau. We know that This is a dangerous volcano that needs to be addressed with great caution.
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Created: 25.12.2018, 14:36 PM
