Indonesia’s Anak Krakatau continues to erupt

Jakarta, Indonesia - Anak Krakatau volcano, situated in the Sunda Strait between Java and Sumatra, experienced ongoing eruptions on Saturday morning, according to authorities. The explosion occurred at 11.07 pm local time on Friday and persisted through the night until 6 am on Saturday, emitting booming and rumbling sounds detectable from an observation post.

Berton Panjaitan, the Acting Head of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency, confirmed the eruption's start time and duration. The Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation assessed the volcano's regrown edifice as relatively small and not prone to collapse, which could generate a tsunami, despite public concerns.

The government is actively addressing these worries, especially among residents in coastal regions of Banten and Lampung provinces, where a similar tsunami occurred on December 22, 2018. Anak Krakatau remains at Alert Level III, with a 3km exclusion zone surrounding its active crater. Between midnight and 6 am on Saturday, the PVMBG documented one eruption earthquake with a magnitude of 70mm and a duration of 21,600 seconds.

Additionally, a field surveillance camera was destroyed following being hit by ejected volcanic material. The public is advised not to venture near the volcanic area for observation or photography due to the ongoing threat of material ejection from the active crater. Meanwhile, around 650 individuals from 208 families have been registered as evacuees following heightened activity at Mount Sinabung in Karo regency, North Sumatra, after an eruption on August 31 prompted authorities to elevate its status from Level II (Waspada) to Level III (Siaga).

As of Friday, about 405 people were still at the Jambur Arih Ersada evacuation center in Sukatepu village. Thick white crater smoke was observed rising approximately 300 to 500 meters above Sinabung's summit between noon and 6 pm on Friday, although no seismic activity was recorded during this period.