What were The Deadliest Volcanic Eruptions in Indonesia?
Recently in December 2018, a tsunami caused havoc in Indonesia. More than 281 people were killed. The reason behind the tsunami? It was the eruption of Krakatoa (also called ‘Krakatau’) volcano, as its lava fell into the ocean and triggered the tsunami. This invited for a call of a new early warning system which helps detect the volcanic eruptions, because the tsunami struck almost without warning, along the rim of the Sunda Strait between Java and Sumatra islands. This however, hasn’t been the only time that a volcanic eruption in Indonesia has led to devastation in the country.
Indonesia is dominated by volcanoes formed between the Eurasian plate and the Indo-Australian plate. These volcanoes form a part of the Pacific Ring of Fire – the location where many earthquakes and volcanic eruptions occur. The two most active volcanoes are Kelud and Merapi, located on island of Java, and they have caused thousands of deaths. Counting since AD 1000, Kelud has erupted 30 times and Mount Merapi has erupted more than 80 times. Owing to Merapi’s high volcanic activity, it has been termed as “Decade Volcano.”
About 5 million people in Indonesia live in the danger zones. It was 1815, when the volcano Mount Tambora erupted, and took the lives of 71,000 people. The remains of homes destroyed were found in archaeological excavations in 2004. The culture that vanished in the eruption – was reflected in the site that remained intact beneath three meters of pyroclastic deposits. For the very same reason, and fear that another powerful volcanic eruption would affect millions of Indonesians, the volcanic activity of Mount Tambora is closely monitored.
Here is the entire list of volcanic eruption in Indonesia that have proved to be fatal over the past few centuries:
| Rank | Death Toll | Volcano | Country | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 71,000 | Mount Tambora | Indonesia | 1815 |
| 2 | 36,000 | Krakatoa | Indonesia | 1883 |
| 3 | 10,000 | Kelud | Indonesia | 1586 |
| 4 | 5,000 | Kelud | Indonesia | 1919 |
| 5 | 4,011 | Mount Galunggung | Indonesia | 1822 |
| 6 | 1,584 | Mount Agung | Indonesia | 1963 |
| 7 | 1,369 | Mount Merapi | Indonesia | 1930 |
| 8 | 353 | Mount Merapi | Indonesia | 2010 |
| 9 | 281 | Krakatoa | Indonesia | 2018 |
| 10 | 18 | Galunggung | Indonesia | 1982 |
| 11 | 16 | Sinabung | Indonesia | 2014 |
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