Krakatau volcano erupts three more times in Indonesia

Krakatau’s eruptions continued in Indonesia on Tuesday, when the volcano erupted three times. The new eruptions were smaller than the earlier ones, Reuters reported.

The volcano sits in the Sunda Strait between Java and Sumatra. Its activity began last Friday and spread large amounts of ash across nearby areas, disrupting aviation and daily life for local residents.

Several airports that had closed reopened on Tuesday after winds blew the ash away. They included Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, the main airport serving the Jakarta metropolitan area. Two smaller airports remained closed on Tuesday morning, Finnish time, and Reuters said further eruptions could still disrupt flights.

Indonesia’s Transport Ministry said on Monday that the eruption had affected nearly 3,000 flights. Airlines had to cancel, delay or divert flights, changes that affected more than 340,000 passengers. Authorities urged people to wear masks outdoors on Sunday, while schools in many areas switched to remote learning.

Krakatau has erupted with catastrophic consequences before. Its 2018 eruption triggered a tsunami that struck the coasts of Java and Sumatra and killed more than 400 people. The 1883 eruption ranks among the most destructive in history, with more than 36,000 people estimated to have died in the eruption and the tsunami that followed.

Krakatau is one of about 130 active volcanoes in Indonesia and forms part of the Pacific Ring of Fire. The more than 40,000-kilometer-wide volcanic belt follows the Pacific coastline, and about 90% of the world’s earthquakes occur along it. Four of the largest volcanic eruptions of the past 12,000 years also occurred on the Ring of Fire.