This week marks the 125th anniversary of the devastating eruption of
the Indonesian volcano, now an unusual tourist attraction, despite
being active.

Aug. 26, 1883: Krakatau Erupts, Changes World ... Again

By Randy Alfred
Excerpts..
1883: Krakatau volcano in the Dutch East Indies roars
to life with a volley of ever-increasing explosions. It will culminate
the next morning with the loudest explosion in human history.
Explosions continued at night, and lightning jumped between the ash
column and the island. St. Elmo's Fire played on a ship's yardarms and
rigging 25 miles away, ash fell on its deck and explosions deafened its
crew.
Just after 10 a.m. on the morning of the Aug. 27 came the final,
cataclysmic explosion with 26 times the power of the biggest H-bomb
test. As Krakatau's underground magma chamber emptied, the sea rushed
in, at first sucking ships toward it in an inbound current. Then the
2,600-foot-high volcanic cone collapsed into the center, leaving little
of the island above water and sending out a truly colossal tsunami.
Hundred-foot tidal waves (up to 130 feet in some places) scoured
nearby coasts, obliterating hundreds of villages and taking more than
36,000 lives. Much reduced, the sea wave swept past the Cape of Good
Hope into the Atlantic Ocean and even caused a measurable ripple in the
English Channel.
The noise was heard at Alice Springs in the middle of Australia. Four
hours after the massive explosion, 3,000 miles away on the island of
Rodrigues in the western Indian Ocean, it was recorded as the "roar of
heavy guns." The sound was audible over 1/13 the surface of the globe,
according to the Guinness Book of World Records. The shockwave registered on a barometer in London.
The final eruption also threw pumice an estimated 34 to 50 miles into
the sky. Dust fell more than 3,000 miles away 10 days later. Islands of
pumice floated on the oceans for months. Sulfur in the ash reacted with
atmospheric ozone to scatter sunlight, causing vivid red sunsets around
the world. Global temperatures dropped, and climate disruptions lasted
five years.
The Dutch government and Britain's Royal Society both launched
investigations into the natural history of the eruption and its
effects. These helped lay the foundations of modern volcanology.
Krakatau also exploded violently in 1115, opening the Sunda Strait and
eradicating the isthmus that once connected the huge islands of Java
and Sumatra. A half-century after its 1883 explosion, Anak Krakatau, or "child of Krakatau," emerged from the sea and now grows 20 feet a year. Its work in shaping our planet may not be over.
Source: Volcano (Time-Life Books); others

Emissions from the 1883 Krakatau eruption generated dramatic sunsets
around the world. The colorful skies inspired many sketches and
paintings, like this one by England's William Ashcroft.
Krakatoa has also provided writers and film-makers with a feast of
stories. There is the account of the steamship thrown nearly two miles
by the giant tidal waves that engulfed many nearby islands. But the
most extraordinary tale, apparently confirmed by the official report
into the tragedy, involved a German quarry manager who told how he was
swept off the roof of his three-storey office, only to be saved by a
passing crocodile. As he cascaded through the jungle propelled by the
giant wave, he spotted the croc beside him and leapt on its back.
Safely aboard, he dug his thumbs into the creature's eye sockets and
was carried along for the next few miles until he was dumped on the
jungle floor.
Myth or not, it is part of the folklore of
Krakatoa, which sits astride the same faultline responsible for 2004
earthquake off the coast of Sumatra. Surprisingly, the volcanic
eruption of l883 was not as severe as more recent seismic movements.
Professor Arculus said the total amount of water displaced by the
Krakatoa volcano was much less. "The problem around Krakatoa was that
there was a big population living around the Sumatran and Javan shores,
and because they were only a few kilometres away they copped a lot of
it, but the tsunami was relatively trivial in size."
Professor
Arculus also corrects the misspelling of the volcano's name, which is
officially Krakatua. "It was wrongly spelt on the telegraph when the
news was sent to London and it's been corrupted by the Brits ever
since," he pointed out. While Anak Krakatua – or Krakatoa – is largely
dormant, tourists can still witness wisps of smoke erupting from the
emerging cone. But there is no real reason to worry, at least for the
moment. It'll take several thousands of years before it gets to the
same size and has the potential to erupt and collapse again.
"The
cone, which is essentially the remains of the old caldera, is currently
in one of its many stages of growth prior to a new destructive episode.
Sooner or later it will happen again."
!!!!!!!!!!!!!
August 12, 2008
Serang,
(ANTARA News) - Mt Anak Krakatau in the Sunda strait had 120 eruptions
and quakes throughout Monday, prompting the Volcanological and
Geological Disaster Mitigation Centger to declare the volcano and its
surroundings in level-2 alert status.

"Even now the volcano is still spewing red-hot lava and thick smoke,"
monitoring personnel in Pasuruan village, Cinangka subdistrict, Serang
regency, said.

However, the frequency of the eruptions and quakes had been declining compared to those in the last two days.

For the time being, unless the volcano`s activities picked up, the area
are safe for tourists, but only in a radius of one kilometer form the
center of the eruptions.
www.antara.co.id/en/arc/2008/8/12/anak-krakatau-erupts-120-times-on-monday/
https://www.fourwinds10.com/siterun_data/environment/earth_changes/news.php?q=1218754237