Ever since the 2004 Asian tsunami that killed almost a quarter of a million people in 14 countries around the Indian Ocean, governments and scientists have given considerable attention to the creation of an early warning system. The disaster 14 years ago came about when a massive subsea earthquake off the Indonesian island of Sumatra sent a series of tidal waves up to 30 meters high surging toward coastlines hundreds of miles away. It was one of the deadliest natural disasters of modern times.
But there can be no early warning for those who live in the shadow of volcanic activity. Thus hundreds have died and thousands have been injured in Sumatran and Javanese coastal towns after a further undersea volcanic movement generated another tsunami. The cause of this tragedy on Saturday was Anak Krakatau, a highly-active volcano which sits to the southwest of the Sunda Strait dividing these two large islands. As long ago as 2012, seismologists were warning that the volcano was unstable and liable to implode. But for the people who live within a hundred kilometers of this grumbling giant, there are few options other than to live daily with the danger. Indonesia is the world’s most populous Muslim country where there is already pressure on land use. Few people could afford to up and move away to somewhere safer.
Yet this volcano, which wreaked such loss of life and havoc at the weekend, is the descendant of the Krakatoa, which in 1883 exploded almost entirely before sinking into the sea. Tens of thousands perished. The resulting clouds of dust and debris affected the climate all around the world, giving rise to red skies and extraordinary optical phenomena with the sun and moon. Ninety years ago, Anak Krakatau rose up slowly from the caldera - the depression - that remained. It is the reborn volcano which has caused the latest disaster. Scientists are warning that the volcano may not yet have done its worst.
It may not be a coincidence that on the other side of the world, Mount Etna on the Italian island of Sicily has begun to erupt. What is Europe’s most active volcano has entered a long-predicted period of increased activity.
There is, however, a difference between the threat posed by Etna and Anak Krakatau. This is that Europe is generally better prepared to manage the effects of natural disasters. In the wake of the 2004 tsunami, Jakarta struggled to cope. Many of the parts of Aceh province hit by the tidal wave were hard enough to reach in the best of times. Smashed roads and communications made bringing aid to survivors even more difficult. Yet Indonesians are no strangers to seismic events. The country has 127 active volcanoes and experiences regular minor eruptions and earthquakes.
However, is it fair to expect a developing country, for all its rising prosperity and sophistication, to shoulder the burden of dealing with disaster, albeit with the often-chaotic offers of help from NGOs? The case remains strong for the establishment, probably under UN auspices, of a permanent disaster relief force, highly-trained and fully equipped to arrive within hours of a major event. Time and again, not least in Kashmir, Bangladesh and Indonesia, where massive earthquakes or floods have struck, there are precious golden hours when many victims can be saved, but only if the right help is available almost immediately.
