August 29, 2002
Memorizing This Day in 1883
Actually it was a couple of days ago, but I missed it. So, what happened? On August 26, 1883, the island volcano of Krakatau ("Krakatoa") in Indonesia erupted with world-wide impact. "The eruption was one of the most catastrophic natural disasters in recorded history," according to Dr. George Pararas-Carayannis. "Fine ashes from the eruption were carried by upper level winds as far away as New York City. The explosion was heard more than 3000 miles away. Volcanic dust blew into the upper atmosphere affecting incoming solar radiation and the earth's weather for several years." Dr. PC adds, "A series of large tsunami waves generated by the main explosion, some reaching a height of nearly 40 meters (more than 120 feet) above sea level, killed more than 36,000 people in the coastal towns and villages along the Sunda Strait on Java and Sumatra islands." Less importantly, the events inspired a hollywood movie "Krakatoa, East of Java" (Krakatau is actually west of Java, but don't tell Hollywood.)Here are a couple other interesting websites about Krakatau:
--thanks for Joe Friend who wrote this, he always writes a very nice things about Indonesia.
Posted at August 29, 2002 01:54 PM | Indonesia
