Extreme weather conditions around Indonesia’s Anak Krakatoa volcano could trigger one other devastating tsunami, experts warn, because the death toll from Saturday’s disaster rose to 429.
At least 154 other individuals are still missing and 1,485 people injured within the tsunami brought on by the Anak Krakatoa eruption, which hit coastal areas across the narrow Sunda Strait between the country’s two most populous islands, Java and Sumatra.
“We are constantly monitoring tremors on Mount Anak Krakatoa, especially below [current] extreme weather conditions and high waves, because such conditions can potentially cause the slope of the volcano to collapse, descend into the sea and trigger a tsunami,” said Dwikorita Karnawati, head of the Agency of Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics, at a press conference just before midnight on Tuesday.
She expressed fear that heavy rains, expected to last until Wednesday afternoon, could trigger imminent landslides – with devastating consequences.
Before the tsunami that killed hundreds of people, the massive eruption of Krakatoa in 1883 shocked the world
“The volcano’s caldera walls become brittle, especially if heavy rains fall on them,” she said.
Due to the potential for underwater landslides and tsunamis, Dwikorita urged the general public to at all times remain vigilant and “avoid coastal areas at the very least 500 meters to 1 km [0.3-0.6 miles] from the shore.”
On Tuesday, National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said the seek for victims and potential survivors had been expanded to peripheral areas now cut off by the disaster.
“Casualties may continue to rise… as some districts could not be reached due to damaged roads and collapsed bridges,” Sutopo said, adding that the tsunami had displaced 16,082 people and damaged 1000’s of buildings, including many hotels.
Based on eyewitness testimony and preliminary expert analyses, Sutopo said Saturday night’s tsunami was between 2 and 5 meters high. [7-16 feet] growth, within the regencies of Pandeglang and Serang in Banten province, on the western tip of Java.
The shocking moment a tsunami hits the stage as Seventeen performs at an Indonesian beach resort
Three regencies in Lampung province on the southern tip of Sumatra were also affected.
“That’s why most hotels and buildings [in Pandeglang] have been flattened. If the tsunami were only 1 to 3 meters high [3-10 feet]they would not have been flattened so much,” Sutopo told a news conference, adding that there could still be many more victims under the rubble.
“We need more heavy machinery to find victims,” he said.
Because some areas are inaccessible to heavy equipment, rescuers use small tools or their bare hands to clear debris during heavy monsoon rains.
On Tuesday, Prayoga, who like many Indonesians goes by one name, was seen walking along the shores of Anyer Beach within the Serang region, trying to find bodies.
“The water level rose last night, so seawater could have carried some victims ashore this morning,” said a 21-year-old lifeguard from Jakarta.
Bad weather conditions, heavy rains and high waves have hampered the seek for him since Monday evening.
“The waves can throw us out to sea if we are not vigilant and careful,” he said.
Sutopo said hotels along beaches from Serang to Pandeglang were fully booked because the tsunami hit areas within the Sunda Strait because it is the vacation season in Indonesia.
The tsunami got here suddenly, without notice, he said.
Hundreds dead after Anak Krakatoa triggered ‘volcano tsunami’
Hundreds dead after Anak Krakatoa triggered ‘volcano tsunami’
According to the Agency of Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics, the tsunami was triggered by underwater landslides brought on by the partial collapse of the Anak Krakatau caldera following an eruption that very same night.
Although the country has an early warning system for earthquake tsunamis, it doesn’t have an identical system for warning of a possible tsunami following a volcanic eruption.
“Nobody expected that the eruption of Mount Anak Krakatoa would cause underwater landslides and trigger a tsunami since it was not the most important eruption in history,” Sutopo said, adding that the eruptions in October and November were much larger and the frequency of the volcano’s tremors was not tall.
“Developing a tsunami early warning system due to volcanic activity will be a challenge for us in the future because we have 127 volcanoes and 13 percent of the world’s active volcanoes are in Indonesia,” he said.
Although his family survived, 32-year-old villager Junaedi said the disaster traumatized him a lot that he not desired to live near the coast and decided to depart the village.
“It was an evening with clear skies, full moon, no rain and good weather when suddenly, unexpectedly, without the slightest warning, the tsunami hit,” he said.
The volcano, which has suffered minor eruptions since June, is a byproduct of the infamous Krakatoa eruption in 1883, which killed greater than 36,000 people and left behind an enormous crater during which Mount Anak Krakatoa, or “Child of Krakatoa,” grew.
In September, the peak of the volcano was 338 meters. After Saturday’s partial collapse, the caldera is estimated to have shrunk to 329 meters.
This article appeared within the print edition of the South China Morning Post as: Experts fear that landslides may trigger one other tsunami
