krakatoa, indonesia 1883
The 1883 Krakatoa eruption was an extremely powerful caldera eruption that completely obliterated most of the island which had hosted the volcano. The chain of eruptions occurred between the dates August 26-27 1883, making it one of the most violent eruptions recorded in recent history. Several reports have said that the sound waves released from the eruption could have been heard from a huge distance of 4800 kilometers away from the initial eruption origin while the shock waves were recorded by barographs (instruments used to measure pressure) throughout the entire world for five straight days, hinting at the violent forces behind the eruption. It was reported that the shock waves caused had apparently reverberated around the world seven times before receding while anyone within 16 kilometers of the violent eruption would have become deaf from the sheer power of the sound waves released.
Causes
The island of Krakatoa is situated between the converging plates of the Indian-Australian Plate and Eurasian Plate, an area renowned for its high volcanic and seismic activity. The Indian-Australian Plate creates a subduction zone beneath the Eurasian Plate, melting the Indian-Australian Plate and releasing magma which then rises through cracks in the crust. The silica-rich magma continues to accumulate in the newly created magma chamber until it is violently ejaculated out of the volcano.
Environmental/Social Impacts
It had been estimated that the force of the eruption was equivalent to 200 megatons of TNT, which is 13000 times more powerful that the 'Little Boy' nuclear bomb which was detonated on Hiroshima during World War Two while also being roughly four times stronger than the most powerful nuclear detonation in history. The huge force of the eruption also caused tsunami's which killed at least 36417 people while thousands more had been injured either by the thermal energy released from the eruption or the tsunami waves. The waves were recorded to reach up to 40 meters and had picking up lumps of corral which were as heavy as 600 tonnes. 165 coastal villages had been completely destroyed. Massive amounts of boiling ash had rushed across the ocean, claiming victims which had been on boats or ships when the eruption had occurred. Weeks after the initial eruption, large blocks of pumice were still drifting into countries, with the worst cases having pieces of animal or human skeletons embedded within them. Groups of human skeletons which had been burnt completely to the born washed up neighboring countries up to even a year after the catastrophic eruption. Pumice and ash had rained from the clouds, falling onto ships and the ocean. The ash which covered the sun lowered the Earth's overall temperature by 1.2 degrees, a remarkable feat.
As the eruption had destroyed the entire island and ravaged nearby countries, it was not possible to rebuild on their original locations while the number of survivors unfortunate to have been on the destroyed islands were extremely minimal.
Effects on a LEDC (Less Economically Developed Country)
Being a LEDC (Less Economically Developed Country), meaning Indonesia is a developing country with limited infrastructure, Indonesia suffered different consequences compared to the Mount St. Helens eruption in America. As the eruption had completely blown the island apart while killing thousands of people on neighboring islands which had been unfortunate to be within the vicinity of the eruption. It could only be described as a huge disaster which simply destroyed or swept away complete settlements.As most of the villages which had suffered from the eruption where not built with strong structures or to be able to withstand the force of a tsunami wave. However, the power of the volcanic eruption and tsunami was such that it was impossible to build the buildings to be able to stand even in MEDC's (More Economically Developed Country). No current housing structure on earth can stand through a volcanic eruption unless the building can apparently survive the force of the blast and extremely high temperatures while being able to seal out any toxic gas produced from the eruption. Additionally, it would have to be able to operate normally being covered in molten magma which would quickly harden into solid rock. The options against tsunamis are limited in what LEDC's can do, including building on higher grounds such as cliffs because building on top on steady slopes can actually increase the speed of the tsunami wave, possibly doubling or tripling its speed. It is also recommended that residents living in possible fear of a tsunami should not eradicate nearby corral as it helps to stop the force of the wave. However, the Krakatoa eruption released tsunami waves so powerful, it picked up coral weighing up to 600 tonnes, turning this apparent defensive system into another hazard. In summary, there was little to nothing which could be done to prepare against the catastrophic Krakatoa eruption.
Causes
The island of Krakatoa is situated between the converging plates of the Indian-Australian Plate and Eurasian Plate, an area renowned for its high volcanic and seismic activity. The Indian-Australian Plate creates a subduction zone beneath the Eurasian Plate, melting the Indian-Australian Plate and releasing magma which then rises through cracks in the crust. The silica-rich magma continues to accumulate in the newly created magma chamber until it is violently ejaculated out of the volcano.
Environmental/Social Impacts
It had been estimated that the force of the eruption was equivalent to 200 megatons of TNT, which is 13000 times more powerful that the 'Little Boy' nuclear bomb which was detonated on Hiroshima during World War Two while also being roughly four times stronger than the most powerful nuclear detonation in history. The huge force of the eruption also caused tsunami's which killed at least 36417 people while thousands more had been injured either by the thermal energy released from the eruption or the tsunami waves. The waves were recorded to reach up to 40 meters and had picking up lumps of corral which were as heavy as 600 tonnes. 165 coastal villages had been completely destroyed. Massive amounts of boiling ash had rushed across the ocean, claiming victims which had been on boats or ships when the eruption had occurred. Weeks after the initial eruption, large blocks of pumice were still drifting into countries, with the worst cases having pieces of animal or human skeletons embedded within them. Groups of human skeletons which had been burnt completely to the born washed up neighboring countries up to even a year after the catastrophic eruption. Pumice and ash had rained from the clouds, falling onto ships and the ocean. The ash which covered the sun lowered the Earth's overall temperature by 1.2 degrees, a remarkable feat.
As the eruption had destroyed the entire island and ravaged nearby countries, it was not possible to rebuild on their original locations while the number of survivors unfortunate to have been on the destroyed islands were extremely minimal.
Effects on a LEDC (Less Economically Developed Country)
Being a LEDC (Less Economically Developed Country), meaning Indonesia is a developing country with limited infrastructure, Indonesia suffered different consequences compared to the Mount St. Helens eruption in America. As the eruption had completely blown the island apart while killing thousands of people on neighboring islands which had been unfortunate to be within the vicinity of the eruption. It could only be described as a huge disaster which simply destroyed or swept away complete settlements.As most of the villages which had suffered from the eruption where not built with strong structures or to be able to withstand the force of a tsunami wave. However, the power of the volcanic eruption and tsunami was such that it was impossible to build the buildings to be able to stand even in MEDC's (More Economically Developed Country). No current housing structure on earth can stand through a volcanic eruption unless the building can apparently survive the force of the blast and extremely high temperatures while being able to seal out any toxic gas produced from the eruption. Additionally, it would have to be able to operate normally being covered in molten magma which would quickly harden into solid rock. The options against tsunamis are limited in what LEDC's can do, including building on higher grounds such as cliffs because building on top on steady slopes can actually increase the speed of the tsunami wave, possibly doubling or tripling its speed. It is also recommended that residents living in possible fear of a tsunami should not eradicate nearby corral as it helps to stop the force of the wave. However, the Krakatoa eruption released tsunami waves so powerful, it picked up coral weighing up to 600 tonnes, turning this apparent defensive system into another hazard. In summary, there was little to nothing which could be done to prepare against the catastrophic Krakatoa eruption.