Almost four years to the day after an unexpected explosion at New Zealand's White Island killed 22 people, tragedy has struck another volcano that is frequented by climbers and tourists. Marapi (not to be confused with Merapi) in Indonesia experienced a small and unexpected explosion on Sunday. The aftermath of the blast appears to be at least 11 hikers dead and a dozen more missing. Sadly, we again have to discuss the dangers of tourism on a potentially active volcano.
Much like Whakaari (White Island) in New Zealand, Marapi is far from a dormant volcano. Over the past decade, it has been in eruption (according to the Global Volcanism Program) 5 times, most recently only 9 months ago. The volcano is known for its explosive eruptions like many Indonesian volcanoes.
However, Marapi is also close to lots of people. The volcano sits within 100 kilometers of over 4 million people, ...
