The dirt road ahead turned into an asphalt road, which surprised Yang Jing and the others. Howard smiled and explained, "There is a very large peninsula ahead called Matupit. There is also a settlement there with about 900 people. This road leads to that settlement."
After a pause, fearing that Yang Jing and the others didn't understand, Howard continued to explain, "The former Rabaul occupied the entire east coast of Simpson Bay. From where we just turned, all the way to the southernmost tip of the entire peninsula is the East City of Rabaul. This is also the main urban area of Rabaul. The Japanese headquarters was also stationed here. Oh, do you see this flat area in front?"
A piece of land that looked very flat appeared in front of them. The area was not very large, which surprised Yang Jing and the others. Along the way, there were only mountains and hardened volcanic ash, and it was rare to see such a large area and such a flat area.
Chris hesitated for a moment and then asked, "Mr. Howard, was this an airport before?"
Howard held the handle with one hand and snapped his fingers loudly with the other hand. "Mr. Patton is really smart. Yes, this used to be the Rabaul Airport. During World War II, this was a field airport built by the Japanese. After the war, it became the Rabaul Airport. But the volcanic eruption 20 years ago completely razed the airport to the ground."
Yang Jing looked up at the Tavuru volcano less than two kilometers southeast of the airport, and felt that the Japanese devils back then were a little crazy. Why didn't you find a good place to build the airport, but had to build the airport at the foot of an active volcano? Isn't this courting death?
"If we don't leave tomorrow, I can take you to the Rabaul War Memorial. There are many precious photos from the Second World War in the memorial. One of the photos is very interesting. It shows a Japanese pilot flying a Zero fighter at the airport. The background behind the pilot is Mount Tavuru."
Hearing this, Yang Jing couldn't help but reveal a strange look on his face. If the Japanese pilot knew that the volcano that served as his background had directly destroyed 80% of Rabaul fifty years later, I wonder what he would think.
Of course, if the volcano suddenly erupted at that time, the US-Australian coalition forces would be able to capture Rabaul without bloodshed!
Along the way, Yang Jing finally understood why the Germans and Japanese built the main city on the east coast of Simpson Bay. It was because the wide and flat area here was much larger than the North City. The widest distance from the coastline to the foot of the mountain in the North City was only about 500 meters, but in the east, the narrowest place was about one kilometer wide, and the widest place was even more than two kilometers.
Although the geographical conditions here are good, it is too close to two active volcanoes. A sneeze from these two active volcanoes can bring devastating disaster to the city.
A group of five people rode bicycles to the site of the old airport. Howard said, "Further south is the settlement, which is not very interesting. If you are interested, we can climb the extinct volcano east of Mount Tavuru. That is the best observation point to appreciate the scenery around Rabaul. Every time I return to Rabaul, I will climb Mount Baai."
Guo Xiang hesitated for a moment and asked, "Captain, are you sure that the mountain is okay? What if, I mean what if, that volcano also erupts, wouldn't we all be dead?"
Yang Jing shook his head helplessly and said, "Fatty, you are not old enough, how can you ask such a low-level question? Even if a volcano is going to erupt on a large scale, various signs will appear long in advance. Before any volcano erupts, there will be extremely strong signs. Don't expect a volcano that has been dormant for who knows how many years to erupt before there are any signs of eruption. That is impossible."
"Okay, brother, you win. I was really stupid just now."
Yang Jing is right. Volcanic eruptions are different from earthquakes. It is difficult for humans to predict earthquakes, but it is easy to predict volcanic eruptions. The reason is that any active volcano will show obvious or even strong signs of eruption before it erupts. Such signs often appear several or even dozens of days in advance, as if to remind people, if you don't want to die, stay away from me, my buddy can't help but erupt.
The two volcanoes in front of us, even though one of them has only erupted for 24 years, are now quiet and there is no sign of eruption.
However, Howard's words made Yang Jing think.
Apart from climbing a mountain in Mount Hagen some time ago, Yang Jing has been either floating on the sea or flying these days. To be honest, Yang Jing really wants to experience the spectacular view from a high place again.
In particular, the extinct volcano named Baai that Howard mentioned is located on the coast. Although it is only about 500 meters high, it is conceivable that once you can reach the top, you will definitely see the spectacular view of the sea.
Without paying any more attention to Guo Xiang, Yang Jing asked Chris and Adrian, "How about it? Do you want to climb it?"
Chris spread his hands and said with a smile, "Boss, I don't have any objection. The mountain of recoil is not high. It can be climbed in half an hour at most."
Adrian: "You are the boss, I will follow your arrangements."
Yang Jing excitedly waved his hand and said, "Let's go and climb this extinct volcano."
The group rode southeast along the flat airport and saw a fairly flat dirt road halfway. Not far along the dirt road, they saw the Tavuru volcano, the culprit that destroyed Rabaul twenty-four years ago.
My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It’s even more exciting later!
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