There's been news on the radio about an earthquake around Jakarta, or a 'guria', as we used to call them in New Guinea. Unfortunately, it's something that occurs fairly regularly in this region which forms part of the Ring of Fire.
We all know the gripping story and events leading up to the cataclysmic eruption of the volcano Krakatoa which, on 27th August 1883, blew itself out of existence with an explosion the equivalent power of 150 million tonnes of TNT. The eruption was so loud that the sound was heard over a twelfth of the Earth's surface, the shockwaves reverberated around the entire planet, seven times. This explosion also caused giant tsunami, the largest of them twice the height of those of 2004. These enormous waves wiped out 165 Indonesian towns and villages killing over 36,000 people. Within hours news of the disaster was transmitted around the globe, and scientists of the time struggled to comprehend the geological forces that caused the tragedy.
Indonesia has so many volcanoes and earthquakes because of its geographical position. The archipelago that starts in Northern Sumatra stretches over 3,000 miles south. It has been created by the forces where two of the tectonic plates that make up the Earth’s surface, meet. The ocean floor of the Indo-Australian Plate and the Asian landmass of the Burma Plate are in collision. As they push against each other, the heavier ocean floor is forced underneath the lighter continental rock. Krakatoa lies directly above this subduction zone.
The following film reconstructs the true stories of survivors from their accounts and diaries, to piece together what happened in the months leading up to the most famous eruption of all time.
My favourite non-fiction writer Simon Winchester wrote a book about it, "Krakatoa - The Day the World Exploded", which you can read here.
And there's more about Krakatoa on the internet but I let you look for it yourself!
