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Report on Krakatau (Indonesia) — December 2002


Krakatau

Bulletin of the Global Volcanism Network, vol. 27, no. 12 (December 2002)
Managing Editor: Richard Wunderman.

Krakatau (Indonesia) Seismicity dominated by volcanic earthquakes through at least December 2002

Please cite this report as:

Global Volcanism Program, 2002. Report on Krakatau (Indonesia) (Wunderman, R., ed.). Bulletin of the Global Volcanism Network, 27:12. Smithsonian Institution. https://doi.org/10.5479/si.GVP.BGVN200212-262000



Krakatau

Indonesia

6.1009°S, 105.4233°E; summit elev. 285 m

All times are local (unless otherwise noted)


During 9 September through at least late December 2002, seismicity at Krakatau was dominated by A-and B-type volcanic earthquakes (table 2). Throughout the report period, clouds obscured the view of the summit. Krakatau remained at Alert Level 2.

Table 2. Earthquakes registered at Krakatau during 9 September-29 December 2002. No data were available during 16-29 September. Courtesy VSI.

Date A-type volcanic B-type volcanic Tectonic
09 Sep-15 Sep 2002 2 6 3
30 Sep-06 Oct 2002 8 31 6
07 Oct-13 Oct 2002 30 109 6
14 Oct-20 Oct 2002 18 64 3
21 Oct-27 Oct 2002 7 55 5
28 Oct-03 Nov 2002 8 54 11
04 Nov-10 Nov 2002 28 56 5
11 Nov-18 Nov 2002 2 31 5
02 Dec-08 Dec 2002 16 50 5
09 Dec-15 Dec 2002 13 53 13
16 Dec-22 Dec 2002 6 32 1
23 Dec-29 Dec 2002 11 59 2

Geological Summary. The renowned Krakatau (frequently mis-named as Krakatoa) volcano lies in the Sunda Strait between Java and Sumatra. Collapse of an older edifice, perhaps in 416 or 535 CE, formed a 7-km-wide caldera. Remnants of that volcano are preserved in Verlaten and Lang Islands; subsequently the Rakata, Danan, and Perbuwatan cones were formed, coalescing to create the pre-1883 Krakatau Island. Caldera collapse during the catastrophic 1883 eruption destroyed Danan and Perbuwatan, and left only a remnant of Rakata. This eruption caused more than 36,000 fatalities, most as a result of tsunamis that swept the adjacent coastlines of Sumatra and Java. Pyroclastic surges traveled 40 km across the Sunda Strait and reached the Sumatra coast. After a quiescence of less than a half century, the post-collapse cone of Anak Krakatau (Child of Krakatau) was constructed within the 1883 caldera at a point between the former Danan and Perbuwatan cones. Anak Krakatau has been the site of frequent eruptions since 1927.

Information Contacts: Volcanological Survey of Indonesia (VSI), Jalan Diponegoro No. 57, Bandung 40122, Indonesia (URL: http://www.vsi.esdm.go.id/).