# Doooooom!!! Is Indonesia about to unzip? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 2, 2010, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doooooom-is-indonesia-about-to-unzip/559178 "2010-11-02T04:38:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2010, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doooooom-is-indonesia-about-to-unzip/559178/1 "2010-11-02T04:38:10Z")
Apparently the recent Indonesian tsunami and near-simultaneous eruption of Mount Merapi may be the, er, tip of the iceberg, if this [Yahoo News article](http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101102/ap_on_re_as/as_indonesia_disasters) is to be believed: > [@](#): > > Indonesia’s most dangerous volcano showed no sign of tiring Tuesday, belching clouds of black smoke as fiery lava lit up its cauldron. Scientists warned that the slow but deadly eruption could continue for weeks, like a “marathon, not a sprint.” > > The activity was accompanied by rumbling at 21 other active volcanos in Indonesia, twice the number usually on the government’s “watch” list, which raised questions about what’s causing the uptick along some of the world’s most volatile fault lines. The other volcanoes were not named, but an earlier version of the story mentioned that one of them is Anak Krakatau, the remnant of the island that was famously destroyed in the 1880s blast that was one of largest explosions in recent times. In the meantime, on the other side of the world, the glacier on Iceland’s Grimsvotn volcano is apparently [releasing “torrents of water”](http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101101/ap_on_sc/eu_iceland_volcano), a likely precursor to a significant eruption. This on top of a couple of eruptions on Kamchatka last week. What’s going on? Well, while I have some knowledge of geology, I’m no expert on volcanism, so it may be a roughly coincidental cycle of simultaneous activity. Or the Apocalypse is upon us, whatever. I’m pretty sure, however, that ten or fifteen Indonesian volcanoes erupting in unison would be…undesirable. ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2010, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doooooom-is-indonesia-about-to-unzip/559178/2 "2010-11-02T14:37:12Z")
On the other hand, a nice volcanic winter might be just what we need to combat global warming. ---
**Author:** ![ITR\_champion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c67d28/32.png) [@ITR\_champion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ITR_champion)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2010, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doooooom-is-indonesia-about-to-unzip/559178/3 "2010-11-02T15:28:59Z")
[It would appear that the average is sixty eruptions per year, give or take,](http://www.volcano.si.edu/faq/index.cfm?faq=06), so it doesn’t seem that we’re seeing any major deviation. ---
**Author:** ![thirdname](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@thirdname](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thirdname)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2010, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doooooom-is-indonesia-about-to-unzip/559178/4 "2010-11-02T16:19:10Z")
I just hope it doesn’t capsize. ---
**Author:** ![Stormcrow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/0ea827/32.png) [@Stormcrow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stormcrow)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2010, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doooooom-is-indonesia-about-to-unzip/559178/5 "2010-11-02T16:26:33Z")
> [@thirdname](#): > > I just hope it doesn’t capsize. Hopefully they have a steady hand on the ship of state. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2010, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doooooom-is-indonesia-about-to-unzip/559178/6 "2010-11-02T18:46:20Z")
> [@Ogre](#): > > On the other hand, a nice volcanic winter might be just what we need to combat global warming. Not to mention a longer skiing season… ---
**Author:** ![Ale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Ale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ale)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2010, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doooooom-is-indonesia-about-to-unzip/559178/7 "2010-11-03T05:17:28Z")
Hmmm, i was thinking of going to Indonesia this New Year… _Adds “Big frikkin’ fireworks display!” to the Reasons To Go list._ ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2010, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doooooom-is-indonesia-about-to-unzip/559178/8 "2010-11-03T23:00:46Z")
Yahoo reporting that another large eruption has occurred at Mt. Merapi, and that the evacuation zone has been expanded from six to nine miles from the volcano. ---
**Author:** ![BMax](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bmax/32/4267_2.png) [@BMax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMax)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2010, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doooooom-is-indonesia-about-to-unzip/559178/9 "2010-11-03T23:34:41Z")
> [@Ale](#): > > Hmmm, i was thinking of going to Indonesia this New Year… > > _Adds “Big frikkin’ fireworks display!” to the Reasons To Go list._ I’ve been planning a return trip since my return in September 2008. I bought my ticket in August, and I leave tonight. I had originally planned on driving from Jakarta to Bandung, Yogyakarta and Solo, stopping at [Borobudur](http://www.borobudur.tv/) and [Prambanan](http://www.borobudur.tv/temple_index.htm) along the way. The 2 temples would take me very close to Merapi, just outside the evacuation zone. I’ll probably visit Yogya and Solo, but I may give Borobudur and Prambanan a skip and head to Bali a couple days earlier than I’d originally planned. Then again, It’s not very often that I get the opportunity to see an erupting volcano. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2010, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doooooom-is-indonesia-about-to-unzip/559178/10 "2010-11-03T23:38:25Z")
[Warcraft Reference] Deathwing! Deathwing is coming! [/Warcraft Reference] No, seriously - the Pacific Ring of Fire, with Indonesia is part of, bubbles and seethes and shakes and erupts all the time. It’s largely par for the course, as far as I can see. ---
**Author:** ![Ale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Ale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ale)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2010, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doooooom-is-indonesia-about-to-unzip/559178/11 "2010-11-04T02:32:10Z")
> [@El\_Kabong](#): > > Yahoo reporting that another large eruption has occurred at Mt. Merapi, and that the evacuation zone has been expanded from six to nine miles from the volcano. Sixty nine miles!? 😃