PVMBG Says Anak Krakatau’s Post-2018 Growth Cannot Trigger a Tsunami

Authorities are telling residents along the Banten and Lampung coasts not to panic, despite continuing eruptions and the deep concern stirred by Anak Krakatau’s rumbling sounds and explosive activity.

The concern is closely tied to the tsunami of December 22, 2018, which was associated with activity at Anak Krakatau. But an evaluation by Indonesia’s Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation found that the volcano’s body has grown only relatively little since then. It therefore does not currently have the potential for a massive collapse capable of triggering a tsunami, the disaster agency said.

The continuing eruption began at 11:07 p.m. on Friday and was monitored into Saturday morning. It produced lava fountains at night and one eruption earthquake with an amplitude of 70 millimeters and a duration of 21,600 seconds. Ejected volcanic material also damaged an observation camera, or CCTV system, putting it out of operation.

Anak Krakatau remains at Level III, or Alert. The National Disaster Management Agency and the geological agency recommend clearing all activity within a three-kilometer danger radius around the active crater.

Authorities listed three priorities: local government and disaster-agency patrols to enforce the exclusion zone, readiness of evacuation routes and coastal assembly points, and warnings against approaching the volcano merely to record the eruption. “Therefore, people in Banten and Lampung are expected not to panic,” BNPB official Berton SP Panjaitan said.

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