Krakatau made this land heard
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)