The
Indonesian Archipelago is part of the circum-pacific ring,often
referred
to as the "Ring of Fire", where more than 50 % of the world's
volcanoes are located. Indonesia has 76 volcanoes that have erupted in historic
time - the largest number for any volcanic region. These volcanoes have had
at least 1,171 eruptions, placing Indonesia second (after Japan) for the region
with the most dated eruptions.
Indonesia has had the highest number of eruptions that:
produced
pyroclastic flows
The following list gives an overview about some of the most disastrous eruption in historical times:
Volcano
|
Year
of eruption
|
Deaths
|
Major
cause of deaths
|
Papandayan | 1772 | 2,942 | Pyroclastic flow |
Tambora | 1815 | 92,000 | Starvation |
Galunggung | 1882 | 4,011 | Mudflow |
Krakatau | 1883 | 36,417 | Tsunami |
Kelut | 1919 | 5,110 | Mudflow |
Merapi | 1930 | 1,369 | Pyroclastic flow |
Agung | 1963 | 1,184 | Pyroclastic flow |
Today, modern observation techniques combined with early warning systems in many cases saved lives, but could not totally eliminate the risks arising from Indonesia's volcanoes:
1994: Before the eruption of Merapi, 5,500 people were evacuated. 66 people were killed in a pyroclastic flow. 1991: Due to the evacuation of 10,000 people during the eruption of Lokon-Empung on Sulawesi, casualties could be avoided. 1990: During the eruption of Kelut on Java 60,000 people were evacuated but there were 32 fatalities. 1988: No fatalities during the eruption of Makian. 15,000 people were evacuated. 1982: Although 75,000 people were evacuated during the eruption of Galunggung on Java, 68 people got killed.
The
Directorate of Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation focuses
on the observation of Indonesia's volcanoes in order to secure and improve
established early warning systems.To
contribute to a sustainable regional planning, many areas around high-risk
volcanoes have been mapped and classified according to their status of danger.