Katia and Maurice Krafft

Katia and Maurice Krafft

Katia and Maurice Krafft
Born April 17, 1942 (Katia),
March 25, 1946 (Maurice)
Died June 3, 1991(1991-06-03) (aged 49) (Katia)
June 3, 1991(1991-06-03) (aged 45) (Maurice)
Mount Unzen, Japan
Cause of death Killed by the 1991 eruption of Mt. Unzen
Nationality French

Katia Krafft (née Catherine Joséphine Conrad, Mulhouse, 17 April 1942 – 3 June 1991) and her husband, Maurice Paul Krafft (Guebwiller, 25 March 1946 – 3 June 1991), were French volcanologists who died in a pyroclastic flow on Mount Unzen, in Japan, on June 3, 1991. The Kraffts were known for being pioneers in filming, photographing and recording volcanoes, often getting within feet of lava flows. Their obituary appeared in the Bulletin of Volcanology (vol. 54, pp. 613–614).

Early days

Katia Conrad and Maurice Krafft met at the University of Strasbourg, and their career as volcano observers began soon after. With little money, they saved up for a trip to Stromboli and photographed its near-continuous eruption. Finding that people were interested in this documentation of eruptions, they soon made a career out of this, which afforded them the ability to travel the globe. They were married in 1970.

As professional volcanologists

The Kraftts were often the first to be at an active volcano, and were respected and envied by many volcanologists. Their footage of the effects of volcanic eruptions was a considerable factor in gaining the cooperation of local authorities faced with volcanic threats. One notable example of this was after the onset of activity at Mount Pinatubo in 1991, where their video of the effects of the eruption of Nevado del Ruiz in Colombia was shown to large numbers of people, including Philippine President Cory Aquino, and convinced many skeptics that evacuation of the area would be necessary.

The Mount Unzen eruption

In June 1991, while filming eruptions at Mount Unzen (Japan), they were caught in a pyroclastic flow which unexpectedly swept out of the channel that previous smaller flows had been following and onto the ridge they were standing on. They were killed instantly along with 41 people, including fellow volcanologist Harry Glicken, several firemen, and journalists also covering the eruptions.

The work of the Kraffts was highlighted in a video issue of National Geographic, which contained a large amount of their film footage and photographs as well as interviews with both. Maurice famously says in that video that "I am never afraid because I have seen so many eruptions in 23 years that even if I die tomorrow, I don't care", coincidentally on the day before his, and his wife's death at Mt. Unzen.[1]

M. and K. Krafft Crater

A volcanic crater, M. and K. Krafft Crater, of the volcano Piton de la Fournaise on the island of Reunion, is named after Maurice and Katia Krafft. The crater is located at 21°13′23″S 55°43′2″E / 21.22306°S 55.71722°E / -21.22306; 55.71722.[2] Lava erupted from this crater in March 1998.[3]

Books

Maurice Krafft

Maurice and Katia Krafft

Maurice Krafft and Roland Benard

Maurice Krafft, Katia Krafft and François-Dominique de Larouzière

References

  1. ↑ Volcano: Nature's Inferno (videorecording). Washington, DC: National Geographic Society. 2003.
  2. ↑ Bachelery, P., Lenat, J-F., Di Muro, A. and Michon, L. (editors) (2016). Active Volcanoes of the Southwest Indian Ocean: Piton de la Fournaise and Katharla. Berlin: Springer. p. 146. ISBN 978-3-642-31394-3.
  3. ↑ "Activité historique du Piton de la Fournaise". Observatoire volcanologique du Piton de la Fournaise. Retrieved 3 June 2016.


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