More Hikers Still Missing On Volcano
Eleven climbers have been killed and 12 more are missing after the eruption of Indonesia’s Mount Marapi on the island of Sumatra (not to be confused with Mt. Merapi on the island of Java).
About 1,400 people live on Marapi’s slopes. Seventy-five hikers were in the area when the volcano in West Sumatra erupted on Sunday.
“There are 26 people who have not been evacuated, we have found 14 of them, three were found alive and 11 were found dead,” said Abdul Malik, head of the Padang Search and Rescue Agency. A minor eruption on Monday forced rescue workers to suspend their operations until it was safe.
Marapi rises to an elevation of 2,891 meters (about 9,500 feet). It is just one of more than 120 active volcanoes across Indonesia. Indonesia sits on the Pacific’s so-called “Ring of Fire.” Mount Marapi is among the most active volcanoes on Sumatra. In 1979, the volcano killed 60 people in its deadliest eruption.
Marapi has been active since a January eruption. It is among more than 120 active volcanoes in Indonesia, which is prone to seismic upheaval due to its location on the Pacific Ring of Fire, an arc of volcanoes and fault lines encircling the Pacific Basin.
Nearby Lake Toba is the site of one of the largest known eruptions in the Earth’s history. The Toba eruption is estimated to have released around 2,800 cubic kilometers (670 cubic miles) of ash and tephra, making it one of the largest volcanic eruptions of the last 25 million years. The eruption was so massive that it created a caldera, a large, bowl-shaped depression, that is now filled with Lake Toba. The caldera is about 100 kilometers (62 miles) in diameter and 2,500 meters (8,200 feet) deep.
The Toba eruption had a profound effect on the Earth’s climate. The eruption ejected so much ash and sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere that it blocked out sunlight and caused global temperatures to drop by as much as 15 degrees Celsius (27 degrees Fahrenheit). This cooling led to a period of glaciation, which lasted for thousands of years.
The eruption also had a significant impact on life on Earth. The ash and sulfur dioxide poisoned the atmosphere, killing many plants and animals. It is estimated that the eruption may have caused the extinction of up to 75% of all plant and animal species on Earth.
The Toba eruption is one of the most controversial events in human history. Some scientists believe that the eruption caused a bottleneck in human evolution, leading to a population of as few as 10,000 to 3,000 humans worldwide. This bottleneck could have had a profound impact on human genetic diversity.
Mt. Krakatau erupted repeatedly over August 26-27, 1883. The northern part of the island vanished into the air and sea. It killed more than 36,000 people, mostly those who lived on the neighboring islands of Java and Sumatra. The massive tsunamis caused by the explosion surged 10 miles inland on these two islands to kill most of the victims. The explosions were heard 3,000 miles away and the shock was felt as far away as California, 9,000 miles from ground zero. Since 1925, this volcano has visibly been regenerating itself and is violently active again.
The famous Krakatoa (locally known as Krakatau) is located in the Sunda Strait between Sumatra and Java, Indonesia. Its 1883 eruption was one of the most violent volcanic events in recorded history. The eruption climaxed in a series of massive explosions August 26-27. Shockwaves circled the globe multiple times and caused widespread destruction.
Sumatra also is home to Gunung (mountain) Kerinci, which is the tallest volcano in Indonesia at 3,805 meters (12,484 feet) above sea level in the west central part of the island (south of Padang). It’s most recent eruption was in 2021.
Kerinci is part of the Bukit Barisan mountain range, which runs along the western coast of Sumatra. Kerinci has several hiking trails that lead to the summit. Those who make it to the top are rewarded with stunning views of the surrounding countryside. The volcano has a warning system in place to alert people to potential eruptions.
Learn more about Indonesia’s deadliest volcanoes.
