Mount Anak Krakatau Erupts as Residents Told to Stay 3 Kilometers Away

Indonesia’s disaster agency urged residents of coastal Banten and Lampung not to panic after Mount Anak Krakatau erupted with blasts and rumbling sounds.

The National Disaster Management Agency and the Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation recommended that residents, fishers and tourists keep all activity outside a three-kilometer danger zone around the active crater. They also urged people to check evacuation routes and coastal assembly points, and warned them not to approach the volcano simply to record the eruption.

Concern about a possible tsunami has been heightened by the December 22, 2018, tsunami linked to Anak Krakatau’s activity. However, an evaluation by the volcanology center found that the volcano’s growth since 2018 remained relatively small and did not indicate a risk of the massive collapse that could trigger a tsunami.

BNPB acting data, information and disaster communications chief Berton SP Panjaitan said the continuing eruption began at 11:07 p.m. on Friday and was observed producing lava fountains overnight into Saturday morning. It also generated one eruption earthquake, with an amplitude of 70 millimeters and a duration of 21,600 seconds.

BNPB’s operations control directorate confirmed that falling volcanic material damaged an observation camera or CCTV system, causing it to stop operating. “Therefore, people in Banten and Lampung are expected not to panic,” Berton said in an official statement.

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Therefore, people in Banten and Lampung are expected not to panic.