Living with Volcanoes - Indonesia

Question 1

How many volcanoes are there in Indonesia?

Answer 1

80 active

Question 2

How are the people of Indonesia immersed in volcanic setting?

Answer 2

more than three-quarters of the population live within 100km of a volcano that has erupted in the last 10,000 years

Question 3

How does volcanic activity in Indonesia compare with other countries?

Answer 3

suffered more eruptions causing fatalities (114) and damage to infrastructure (195) than any other country

Question 4

How does its tectonic setting impact culture?

Answer 4

culture and personal experience of people is closely tied to volcanoes.

Question 5

describe Indonesia’s tectonic setting?

Answer 5

widespread subduction along the 3000km Indonesian archipelago
much of Indonesia is an island arc formed by the subduction of the Indo-Australian plate beneath the Eurasian plate
to the East of the chain of islands, the continental shelf of Northern Australia is in collision with the Eurasian plate causing high seismisity and vulcanicity

Question 6

what type of eruption was Krakatau?

Answer 6

cataclysmic

Question 7

when was the eruption of Krakatau?

Answer 7

1883

Question 8

how tall is the Merapi volcano?

Answer 8

3000m tall

Question 9

when has the Merapi volcano erupted?

Answer 9

1994, 1997, 2001, 2006

Question 10

what happened each time the Merapi volcano erupted?

Answer 10

a dome developed in the crater, which eventually collapsed causing pyroclastic flows at VEI 3-4

Question 11

What were the consequences of the 2010 Merapi eruption?

Answer 11

pyroclastic flows extended 4km to the North, 11.5km to the West, 7km to the East and 15 km to the South.
lava bombs were thrown 4km from the summit
start of the rainy season so triggered lahars
Yogyakarta airport closed for a fortnight
acid rain
367 killed
277 injured
410,000 refugees
130 million m3 of material destroyed crops and infrastructure such as power lines, buildings and bridges