The Tsunami and Krakatoa

I've just read Simon Winchester's excellent book on the explosion in 1983 of the volcano at Krakatoa.

Simon wrote his book in 2003 and it is very interesting to compare probably two of the worst disasters of recent times.

1. Krakatoa directly killed about 30,000 people, whereas the tsunami of 2004 killed at least 250,000. This is partly accounted for more people living in vulnerable areas, but also because the wave produced by Krakatoa did not kill many people outside the local area. As an example only one person was killed in Sri Lanka or Ceylon as it was then called.

2. Krakatoa was known to be likely to erupt and had been rumbling heavily for some months. Because the tsunami was caused by an underground volcanic explosion, no warnings could be given. Incidentally, Krakatoa is now monitored so that if it does blow again, we will hopefully get some warning.

3. Krakatoa was one of the first major news stories to be broadcast around the world, as the telegraph network was fully in place. Actually, Reuters weren't the first this time, as the local Lloyds agent got the message to The Times first!

4. The Dutch raised money to help the victims as most were in its then colony of the Dutch East Indies. A lot was badly spent! I hope that isn't a foretaste of what is happening now!

We now know that Krakatoa and the volcano that caused the tsunami both lie on the same fault and are just two of many active volcanos. All of these should be mapped and monitored, so that future tragedies are minimised.