The Anak Krakatoa volcano in western Indonesia erupted several times on Tuesday. It predicts a gigantic plume of volcanic ash about 2,500 meters above sea level.
Four explosions were seen and officials counted, the second largest, sending a cloud of ash and smoke 1,500 meters above the crater.
“This is part of an explosive phase related to building a new building for the volcano,” Oktori Prambada, head of the Center for Volcanology and Geological Risk Reduction, told AFP.
In 2018, the crater Anak Krakatoa (Indonesian for ‘child of Krakatoa’) partially collapsed when a violent eruption threw large parts of the volcano towards the sea, causing a deadly tsunami. More than 400 people died and hundreds were injured.
No injuries or damage were immediately reported Tuesday.
Exclusion zone
Prambada said the volcano’s alert level has been placed at the second-highest level and authorities have imposed a five-kilometer exclusion zone around the crater.
Located on the strait separating the islands of Java and Sumatra, Anak Krakatoa has seen sporadic activity since emerging from the sea in the early 20th century, in a caldera formed after the murderous eruption of Mount Krakatoa in 1883. Estimates say around 35,000 people.
Indonesia is located on the Pacific ‘Ring of Fire’, where the meeting of continental plates causes high seismic and volcanic activity. There are nearly 130 volcanoes in the country.
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