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INDONESIA-DISASTER-VOLCANO-TSUNAMI
Indonesian tsunami volcano lost two-thirds of its height
PANDEGLANG, Indonesia, Dec 29, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – The Indonesian volcano
which caused a tsunami that killed more than 400 people last week lost more
than two-thirds of its height following the eruption which triggered the
killer waves.
A section of Anak Krakatoa’s crater collapsed after an eruption and slid
into the ocean, generating the tsunami last Saturday night. A visual
analysis by the Indonesian volcanology agency found the volcano has lost more
than two-thirds of its height, an official said Saturday.
Anak Krakatoa which used to stand 338 metres (1,109 feet) high was now
just 110 metres tall.
The agency estimated the volcano lost between 150 and 180 million cubic
metres of material as massive amounts of rock and ash have been slowly
sliding into the sea following a series of eruptions.
“Anak Krakatoa is now much shorter, usually you can see the peak from the
observatory post, now you can’t,” Wawan Irawan, a senior official at the
agency, told AFP.
Before and after satellite images taken by Japan’s space agency showed
that a two square kilometre chunk of the volcanic island had collapsed into
the water.
The volcano, whose name means Child of Krakatoa, was a new island that
emerged around 1928 in the crater left by Krakatoa, whose massive 1883
eruption killed at least 36,000 people.
The crater’s status has been raised to high alert, the second-highest
warning on Indonesia four-point danger scale.
The exclusion zone has been extended from two to five kilometres (1.2 to
three miles).
A week after the tsunami, thousands of Indonesian Muslims attended a mass
prayer on Saturday to remember the victims and pray for the safety of their
tsunami-prone hometown.
Residents of Pandeglang regency, which was hit the hardest by the
disaster, gathered in the early morning, some in tears as they chanted their
prayers.
“I prayed for the victims and I also pray for the safety of the people who
live in the tsunami affected area,” Dadan Suryana, a tsunami survivor, told
AFP.
“My prayer is for the victims to get help and be granted patience and I
also pray the government will immediately help us to rebuild, to provide
clothes and food, or at least to give us moral support,” fellow congregant
Dian Rosdiana said.
Authorities said at least 426 people were killed and 23 missing in the
disaster.
Some 7,202 people suffered injuries and nearly 1,300 homes were destroyed
after the waves crashed into the coastlines of western Java island and south
Sumatra.
More than 40,000 people have been evacuated for fear of another tsunami as
Anak Krakatoa continues to rumble.
Indonesia, a vast Southeast Asian archipelago, is one of the most
disaster-hit nations on Earth due to its position straddling the so-called
Pacific Ring of Fire, where tectonic plates collide.
BSS/AFP/FI/ 1308 hrs