Acehtsunami

Although relatively uncommon, violent volcanic eruptions represent also impulsive disturbances, which can displace a great volume of water and generate extremely destructive tsunami waves in the immediate source area. Volcanic disturbances can produce waves by the sudden displacement of water caused by a volcanic explosion, by a volcano’s slope failure, or more likely by a phreatomagmatic explosion and collapse and/or engulfment of the volcanic magmatic chambers.

The common tsunamis that occur in the Pacific Ocean happen around the “Ring of Fire” Area surrounding the Hawaiian Islands. The periphery has also been dubbed the ‘Ring of Fire’ because of the extraordinarily large number of active volcanoes and seismic activity located in the region. Since 1819, over 40 tsunamis have struck the Hawaiian Islands.

One of the largest and most destructive tsunamis ever traced was generated in August 26, 1883 after the explosion and collapse of the volcano of Krakatoa (Krakatau), in Indonesia. This explosion generated waves that reached 135 feet, destroyed coastal towns and villages along the Sunda Strait in both the islands of Java and Sumatra, killing 36, 417 people.