Anak Krakatau erupts, disrupts more than 300,000 passengers
Anak Krakatau erupted this week. The eruption sent ash plumes high into the sky. It disrupted travel for more than 300,000 passengers.
Mount Anak Krakatau erupted this week, sending ash high and disrupting hundreds of flights. More than 300,000 passengers were affected.
The volcano is the successor to Krakatau, which erupted in 1883 and killed around 35,000 people. The 1883 Krakatau explosion is the loudest sound in recorded history.
People heard it like distant artillery almost 5,000 kilometres away in Mauritius. Tsunamis from the eruption killed more than 90% of those deaths.
Krakatau sits above a subduction zone where one plate slides under another. This creates explosive eruptions with gas-rich magma.
Anak Krakatau has erupted on and off for nearly 100 years. Scientists debate what triggers major eruptions.
Magma mixing beneath the volcano is one theory.
- 300,000 plus
- Passengers affected
- Around 35,000
- 1883 death toll
- Almost 5,000 kilometres to Mauritius
- Sound distance heard
- Almost 100 years
- Years of activity
Why it mattersAsh disruptions affect travel between continents. History shows volcanic tsunamis from Krakatau-type eruptions can reach Australia.
AustraliaThe 1883 Krakatau eruption generated tsunamis with wave heights over two metres that reached Australian coastlines.
✓ Claims checked against the source. checked 14 h ago
