Krakatoa

Krakatau (Krakatoa) is said to have created the worst volcanic eruptions in history in May 1883. Ancient Krakatoa formed in 419 AD and still exists today in Indonesia. That explosion in 1883 created 130-foot tsunamis which affects were felt by north and south America all along the Sundra Strait even as far as England, it also destroyed 130 coastal homes, two ports (Indonesia and Australia), killed about 36,000 people and formed a volcanic ash cloud that reached 17 miles high encasing the earth within 3 days. The eruption created very load explosions and was heard 3,000 miles from Java. Some people even believe the drop in temperature and spectacular sunsets over the next three years were directly caused by the eruption. Krakatoa erupted many times over its lifetime but the most historic and dangerous eruption occurred on August 27 1883 when the volcano literally “blew itself to bits” destroying 75% of itself along with many people and animals living near coastlines of Australia and Indonesia.

In 1988 Krakatoa erupted again in February and continued erupting through to March 16 which was when small lava flows were reported flowing from the crater, it then continued through to April with continuous explosions and plumes of fire. November 12 1992 Krakatoa erupted again with such intensity it caused lava bombs to shoot out over the north coast and had lava flowing into the sea. In 1883 the eruption lasted from August 23 to 27, in 1988 explosive eruptions lasted February through to April and in 1992 the eruptions lasted the longest from 7 November 1992 through to August 14, 1993. The 1992 eruption caused lava flows up to 1 kilometer to the north adding 100 meters to the coastline. New vents have formed due to the eruptions and these, in turn, have led to the creation of a new volcanic island which is known as Anuk Krakatoa (“child of Krakatoa”) the island is active and grows approximately 13cm each week. Krakatoa is still grumbling away today ready to explode, in fact, the last eruption was in 2001. This concludes that it is still active and likely to “blow it’s top off” anytime.