What If Krakatoa Erupted Today with 1883's Power?

What if Krakatoa erupted today with the full power of 1883? Not just the volcano, but a world of 8 billion people, undersea internet cables, busy airspace, and a Jakarta of more than 30 million.

In 1883, the Krakatoa eruption was heard almost 5,000 km away, sent tsunamis across the Sunda Strait, and killed at least 36,417 people. Most of those deaths came from the water, not from lava or ash. In this video we replay that eruption in today's world: the warning problem, the tsunami, the ash and the flights, the cables and the economy, and the climate effect.

This is a scenario, not a prediction. Where experts disagree or no study exists, the video says so.

Chapters:
00:00 Intro
01:07 What Happened in 1883
02:31 The World in 1883 vs. Today
03:11 The Warning
04:32 The Tsunami
06:30 Ash, Sky and Aviation
08:12 Cables, Ports and the Economy
09:52 Climate
11:25 Could It Happen Again?

Sources:
- 1883 eruption of Krakatoa (death toll, sound, pressure wave): https://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krakatoa_eruption
- Tsunami share of deaths, 165 villages: https://www.theculturetrip.com/asia/indonesia/articles/krakatoa-the-volcanic-eruption-that-shook-the-world
- Tsunami height and climate aftermath: https://qz.com/1506498/krakataus-1883-explosion-caused-years-of-climate-chaos
- Anak Krakatau tsunami, 22 December 2018 (Science Advances): https://www.escholarship.org/uc/item/9f96s6q1
- Anak Krakatau flank collapse volume (NHESS): https://www.nat-hazards-earth-syst-sci.net/20/549/2020/
- Eyjafjallajokull 2010 air traffic impact (Eurocontrol): https://www.eurocontrol.int/archive_download/all/node/10542
- Pinatubo 1991 cooling (USGS, via ReliefWeb): https://reliefweb.int/disaster/vo-1991-000003-phl
- Undersea cables and the 2006 Taiwan earthquake (Foreign Policy): https://foreignpolicy.com/2008/01/31/what-lies-beneath-4/
- Indonesia and Java population (Databoks): https://databoks.katadata.co.id/en/demographics/statistics/66b43fdecaeac/indonesias-population-reaches-2824-million-in-the-first-half-of-2024-half-residing-in-java

What "what if" should we explore next? Tell me in the comments.

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