Report on Galunggung (Indonesia) — 21 August-27 August 2002
Smithsonian / US Geological Survey Weekly Volcanic Activity Report,
21 August-27 August 2002
Managing Editor: Gari Mayberry
Please cite this report as:
Global Volcanism Program, 2002. Report on Galunggung (Indonesia). In: Mayberry, G (ed.), Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 21 August-27 August 2002. Smithsonian Institution and US Geological Survey.
Galunggung
Indonesia
7.25°S, 108.058°E; summit elev. 2168 m
All times are local (unless otherwise noted)
Based on information from a pilot report, the Darwin VAAC stated that an eruption at Galunggung on 23 August at 1748 produced a W-drifting low-level plume. No ash was visible on satellite imagery.
Geological Summary. The forested slopes of Galunggung in western Java SE of Bandung are cut by a 2-km-wide collapse scarp open towards the ESE. The "Ten Thousand Hills of Tasikmalaya" dotting the plain below the volcano are debris-avalanche hummocks from the collapse about 4,200 years ago. An eruption in 1822 produced pyroclastic flows and lahars that killed over 4,000 people. A series of major explosive eruptions starting in April 1982 destroyed a number of villages, killed as many as 30 people, and forced over 60,000 to evacuate. Pyroclastic flows and heavy widespread ash caused significant damage. A large passenger jet that encountered the ash plume on 24 June lost power to all four engines but managed to land safely in Jakarta. The 1982 activity destroyed a 1918 dome and formed the Warirang crater, almost as wide as the valley, about 2 km down from the summit.