Krakatau made this land heard

JAKARTA (JP): What comes to mind when Lampung is mentioned? Lampung coffee? Rubber? Shrimp farm? Bakauheni ferry port? The giant Bakrie group?

None of the above?

For outsiders, especially foreigners, the first things that come to mind about this province are probably: the 1883 Krakatau eruption and the elephant training school in Way Kambas National Park.

At Way Kambas, a one-and-a-half-hour drive from the capital, Bandar Lampung, visitors are entertained by trained elephants, which were once considered pests by the local sugarcane planters. These pachyderms amuse visitors by playing football, doing the popular jaipongan and dangdut dances or walking over daring visitors lying on the ground.

Most tourists and vulcanologists, however, might find the mysterious Krakatau volcano more fascinating. The Krakatau volcano which was 813 meters high is well-known for its huge eruption on August 27, 1883.

The book Krakatau 1883, The Volcanic Eruption and Its Effects describes the eruption and its aftermath, based on information written on scraps of paper, books and telegrams (there were no telephones at that time), as follows:

* at least 36,417 people were killed, mostly by giant tidal waves, and 165 coastal villages were destroyed.

* the tremendous explosion was heard on Rodriguez Island, 4,653 kilometers across the Indian Ocean, and over 1/13th of the earth's surface,

* ash from the Krakatau eruption fell on Singapore (840 kms to the north), Cocos Island (1,155 kms to the southwest), and ships as far as 6,076 kms to the western northwest.

* darkness covered Sunda Straits from 10 a.m. on the day the volcano erupted until dawn the next day,

* giant tidal waves, reaching heights of 40 meters above sea level, devastated everything in their path and hurled ashore 600 tons of coral blocks.

* blue and green suns were observed as fine ash and aerosol, shot perhaps 50 kms into the stratosphere, circled the equator for 13 days,

* three months after the eruption, the ash and aerosol had spread to higher latitudes causing such vivid red sunset afterglows that fire engines were called out in several places, like New York, to quench the apparent conflagration. The unusual sunsets continued for three years.

* global temperatures went down as much as 1/2 degrees Celsius in the year after the eruption. And temperatures did not return to normal until 1888!

The waves, for example, reached Aden in 12 hours, a distance of 3,800 nautical miles. As a comparison, top class steamers at the time needed 12 days to traverse the same distance!

When the eruption ended, only 1/3 of Krakatau (it was five kms by nine kms before the eruption), remained above sea level, and new islands of steaming pumice and ash emerged to the north where the sea had been 36 m deep.

Thanks to the telegraph system and the location of Krakatau in the middle of the Sunda Straits, the narrow passage through which much of the world's maritime traffic was funneled at that time, the news of the eruption spread quickly and accounts, mostly by sailors, soon appeared in newspapers around the world.

In its Sept. 8, 1883 edition, The Illustrated London News ran three sketches on its front page illustrating the Krakatau before and after the devastating eruption.

On that fateful day of August 27, 1883, a telegram, which was sent to Singapore from Batavia (now Jakarta), read: "During night terrific detonations from Krakatau audible as far as Soerakarta (now Surakarta in Central Java), -- ashes falling as Cheribon (now Cirebon in West Java) -- flashed plainly visible from here."

Another telegram sent to Singapore read: "Serang in total darkness all morning -- stones falling. Village near Anjer (now Anyer) washed away."

More than a century later, the Krakatau is still Lampung's most powerful tourist attraction.

"The volcano's fame has spread around the world and become Lampung's trademark," Wirdati Ali, head of Lampung Tourism Agency, said.

The majestic volcano is also unique because it is located in the middle of a sea.

"There is probably no other active volcano in this world that stands in the middle of the sea. Its fame, beauty and uniqueness has prompted the Lampung authorities to name Krakatau their top tourist attraction," Wirdati explained.

Today, the volcano is called Mt. Anak Krakatau. The 1883 eruption left the volcano standing at 213 meters above sea level and resulted in the creation of three islands namely, Sertung Island, Panjang Island and Krakatau Besar Island.

Local reports say Anak Krakatau, which literally means the child of Krakatau, was only spotted in 1927 by fishermen.

The locals have many tales about Krakatau.

Every year, between July and August, the local administration holds a series of weeklong events called Festival Krakatau which consists of traditional ceremonies, games and dances.

By the way, where were your great grandparents when Krakatau blew its top? (bsr)