Mt. Merapi, Indonesia 1930
Indonesia has numerous active volcanoes but of all of them, Merapi is considered to be the most active. 300 days out of the year smoke can be seen rising from the mountain always hinting at the next big eruption. In recent history, there have been evacuations whenever it is feared that the volcano might erupt. In 2010 the volcano erupted and killed 353 people, destroyed villages and covered the ground in ash. It is believed an eruption in in 1005 destroyed the Hindu Kingdom that had existed in the area. But the worst Merapi eruption of the 20th century occurred in 1930.
In 1930 tremors were recorded from the mountain throughout the year. A particularly strong tremor led to lava flowing out from the mountain on November 21st, 1930. The lava was discovered 250m below the summit at 2700m elevation. Then on December 18th and 19th, 1930 a number of large explosions blew through the top of the mountain. Pyroclastic flows rampaged out from summit reaching as far as 15km. A 20 km2 area was burned from the force and heat of the explosion and flows. Thirteen villages were completely leveled and 23 villages were partially destroyed. A death toll of 1, 369 was reported. Thousands of animals were also killed in the eruption.
The mountain itself was changed from the explosion. A large crater appeared on the west part of the summit stretching a length of 850m with a depth of over 800m. In January 1931 an effusive phase began and lava flowed from the depression. The lava formed a dome which would then cause glowing avalanches during the mountain’s tremors. Eruptive activity finally stopped in September 1931 (but started again in 1933 with another eruption).