Volcanic tsunami in Indonesia: New pictures and videos of the tsunami triggered by the eruptive activity of Anak Krakatau volcano

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Here a compilation of videos and pictures from the volcanic tsunami most probably triggered by the crater collapse or an underwater landslide due to the volcanic activity of Anak Krakatau volcano on December 22, 2018.

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Eruptive activity of Anak Krakatau triggered tsunami on December 22, 2018.

A frantic search was underway on Sunday for survivors of a tsunami in Indonesia’s Sunda Strait that struck without warning on the country’s two most-populous islands, killing at least 222 people, injuring more than 800 others and destroying hundred of buildings.

Let’s start with some very impressive and scary video compilations:

And now an animation showing what have probably happened:

The tsunami struck about 9:30 p.m. on Saturday, when many Indonesians were at the beaches on western Java and southern Sumatra celebrating a long Christmas weekend.

And the tsunami might have been caused like that of 1883 as shown in this physics-based computer simulation of the 1883 Krakatoa eruption, lateral blast, pyroclastic flow and tsunami:

Officials said they think that the tsunami — with a wave nearly 10 feet high that hit the coast — had been caused by an undersea landslide that was set off by volcanic activity on the island of Anak Krakatau.

No earthquake was recorded, and no tsunami warning was issued in the area.

There was no seismic activity in the area, which might have prompted a tsunami evacuation alert and saved lives, the officials said. “There was no tsunami warning,” said Rahmat Triyono, earthquake and tsunami chief at Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency. “There was no earthquake.”

The next video shows the tsunami slamming into a temporary stage erected on Tanjung Lesung Beach, on the Java coast, where a rock band was performing.

The tsunami damaged or destroyed at least 556 homes, nine hotels, 60 small shops and 350 boats, said Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, the spokesman for Indonesia’s disaster management agency.Officials put the number of injured at 848 and the missing at 28.

The area hit hardest was Pandeglang regency in Java’s Banten Province, site of Tanjung Lesung Beach. The area is popular with visitors from Jakarta, the capital. Videos and photos from Pandeglang showed extensive damage, with houses crushed and at least one car overturned.

In a video posted on Twitter by Mr. Sutopo, search-and-rescue workers are shown pulling two bodies from rubble:

Officials said the road from Pandeglang to the nearby regency of Serang had been cut off, hampering rescue efforts. Dozens were also killed across the Sunda Strait in Sumatra.

Indonesia and Anak Krakatau

Indonesia, an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands, sits in an active volcanic and seismic area known as the Ring of Fire.

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Current eruption activity of Anak Krakatau volcano after volcanic tsunami of December 22, 2018. Via Kumparan

The Sunda Strait connects the Java Sea and the Indian Ocean and lies between Java, the country’s most-populous island, and Sumatra, the second-most populous.

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Current eruption activity of Anak Krakatau volcano after volcanic tsunami of December 22, 2018. Via Kumparan

Anak Krakatau, or the Child of Krakatau, emerged nearly a century ago from the volcanic crater of Krakatau, also called Krakatoa, which erupted in 1883 in one of the largest such events in recorded history.

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Current eruption activity of Anak Krakatau volcano after volcanic tsunami of December 22, 2018. Via Kumparan

The volcanic island has been growing steadily ever since, and in recent weeks has been erupting frequently. Officials said they would investigate whether volcanic activity had set off an undersea landslide that caused the tsunami.

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Current eruption activity of Anak Krakatau volcano after volcanic tsunami of December 22, 2018. Via Kumparan

We don’t know what caused the tsunami yet,” said Mr. Rahmat of the meteorology agency. “We suspect it was caused by the Anak Krakatau activities.”

History of disaster in Indonesia

The biggest disaster to strike Indonesia in modern times was the Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami that hit a dozen countries on Dec. 26 in 2004. In Indonesia, it obliterated much of the city of Banda Aceh, on the northern tip of Sumatra, and killed about 225,000 people.

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Current eruption activity of Anak Krakatau volcano after volcanic tsunami of December 22, 2018. Via Kumparan

In September this year, a 7.5-magnitude earthquake struck the island of Sulawesi, setting off an underwater landslide and causing a tsunami that struck the city of Palu and surrounding areas. More than 2,100 people died.

In August, a 7.0 magnitude earthquake hit Lombok island, killing more than 550.

The death toll from disasters in Indonesia this year is the worst since 2005, when a 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck the city of Yogyakarta on Java island, killing more than 5,000 people.

[NY Times, Kumparan, Discovery, ABC News]

1 Comment

  1. HAARP technology is capable of causing this type disaster but no one mentions it. Look at the skies and the clouds, then the ash from the eruption, all going different directions, a sign that technology is being used.

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