Indonesia’s Krakatau volcano arose as a child of the famed Krakatoa volcano in the region, following a massive eruption in the 19th century. Krakatau is just one of Indonesia’s 76 volcanoes, many of which have been erupting this year with varying effects. The volcano has remained active since the 20th century, erupting on and off but the most recent has been notably deadly – and destructive, according to recent imagery from the scene.
Last weekend’s eruption from Krakatau has been destructive both to people on nearby land and the immediate environment on the volcanic island.
The eruption from Krakatau was severe enough to trigger submarine (below water) effects in the form of a tsunami, forcing waves ashore at the points of Cilegon and Kalianda.
At least 426 people were killed and a further 150 people are now missing in the wake of the disaster, with an estimated 7,000 people injured.
And the environmental results are similarly dramatic and the island seems to have been decimated by the explosion.
Satellite imagery from the site of the volcano has revealed a startling transformation on the island.
The whole front section of the volcano was torn off in the process of the eruption.
This landslide visible on the volcano is thought to be what originally caused the tsunami.
Dave Petley, Research and Innovation head at Sheffield University, took to a blog post in which he discussed the costly effects on the island, and showed comprehensive satellite imagery of the transformation.
He wrote: “We can say with some certainty that the tsunami was triggered by a landslide from Anak Krakatau.
“Whilst it has not been possible to obtain visual satellite imagery of the island because of the weather, radar data (which is not obscured by cloud) has been available.
“This is a remarkable image, showing amongst other things the volcanic plume being blown to the east and the radial waves from the island being generated by the ongoing eruptions.
“But most importantly it shows what appears to be a large scarp to the west of the volcano cone, presumably marking a large-scale deformation (landslide) of the volcanic edifice of Anak Krakatau.”
While the volcano has comprehensively destroyed much of its surroundings, the threat still remains very real.
Indonesian authorities yesterday raised the risk from the volcano to alert (level II) from Waspada (level I).
Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, a spokesman for the national disaster agency, said in a statement the danger remains strong to people nearby.
He said: “There is a danger of more eruptions. People (near the volcano) could be hit by hot rocks, pyroclastic flows and thick ash.”
Authorities are concerned there could be another landslide on the way, which could send another tsunami.