Hard to believe that it was completely unexpected.
“Hard to believe it was completely unexpected.”
Actually there had been several small earthquakes recently. This is often an indication the magma is on the move and rising in the volcano. I doubt they had any volcanologists at the island as it was a military post there to maintain Yemen’s rights to the island.
Interesting facts. The last eruption was in 1883, the same year as Krakatau. It is unclear from the photos if this is a crater eruption, a fissure eruption, or both. A major fissure eruption with historic implications was the Laki Fissure Event in Iceland in 1783. A rift some 25 miles in length spouted columns of magma, and poisonous gases including fluorine, for a number of months. The poison and ash on the vegetation killed 90% of the cattle, sheep and goats, and resulted in the death of 1/5th of the population. The poisonous haze influence weather and growing conditions in Europe (as noted by our Ben Franklin), and may have been a significant factor in the French Revolution a few years later. Some may recall the famous line “Let them eat cake.” as a response to the statement “The poor have no bread.”