Mount Child of Krakatau erupts in Indonesia
April 25th, 2008
JAKARTA, April 24 (Xinhua) — Mount Child of Krakatau in Sunda Straits, which is close to the densely populated Java Island of Indonesia, has erupted, spewing red-hot rocks from its southern crater, head of observers at the monitoring post Antonius Sigit said on Thursday.
The status of the volcano had been stepped up to the third-highest alert since Monday as the mount had increased its activity,said the observer at the post, which lies in westernmost of Java Island and about 26 miles from the mountain.
The spewing of smokes had reached an altitude of 500 meters, which could be seen from the nearest coast of Anyer in Banten province, he said.
Thundering sounds and tremors had frequently occurred, said Sigit.
”Child of Krakatau exploded Wednesday night following some minor explosions since Monday,” he told Xinhua from the post in Serang of the Banten province.
Sigit said that the southern crater was newly formed, as the lava did not exit from another crater during the last eruption in October last year.
Child of Krakatau is one of the most dangerous volcanoes in thePacific “Ring of Fire,” and scientists warned people to stay out of a 1.9 miles zone around the mountain.
Child of Krakatau had been gradually formed after the legendary eruption in 1883, triggering tsunamis and killing at least 36,000 people.
Mount Krakatau is part of the 129 active volcanoes in the sprawling archipelago country, Indonesia. Sixty-six of them are located in high-density population areas, Java and Sumatra islands, according to the volcanology agency.
Indonesia lies in a vulnerable zone, “the Pacific Ring of Fire” where two continental plates meets, stretching from the Western Hemisphere through Japan and Southeast Asia, causing frequent volcanic movements.
| Editor: Sun Yunlong |
Source: http://news.xinhuanet.com/
Entry Filed under: World Tourism News
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