Anak Krakatau at highest alert

[wp_caption id="" align="alignnone" width="400" caption="Anak Krakatau"]Anak Krakatau[/wp_caption]

Indonesia's Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation Center of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (whew, that is a mouthful) has placed Anak Krakatau on high alert for increased activity. Tourists were warned not to climb on the volcanic island in the Sunda Straits that rises from the remnants of the famous 1883 eruption of Krakatau. Anak Krakatau formed within the caldera of the ancestral volcano and have been fairly active since the 1920's, producing incandescent bombs and small ash columns.

At the same time, the alert at Agung has been reduced from Level III to Level II, which allows some hiking around the volcano but not within 2 kilometers of the main crater. Agung is yet another noisy stratovolcano along the Indonesia arc with its last major eruption in 1964 (a big one, too, at VEI 5).

More like this

You really need a good excuse to go to Anak Krakatau. It's entirely deceptive. Even passing by in a boat is hazardous. The volcano may look lifeless however the odd bomb can be expelled up to 4 Km's away. Stepping on the island is a gamble where the odds decrease as you get closer to the crater. Beware.

Knowing what explosive power the original volcono Krakatoa displayed in 1883. and now only 125 years later, I would venture to say this is going to most likely repeat what it did last century. I think this is a unbelievable freak of nature and should be granted as much respect as humanly possible. I would not underestimate this volcono in the least, it lies on the world two most active tectonic plates. Surely as evidencded in the reamergence of Anak Krakatoa this volcanoe is bound to make history again!

Hi there,

Some scientists have looked back into the geological and historical records and find that during 535/536 AD there was a huge eruption at Krakatau.

http://krakatoa-volcano-eruption.blogspot.com/2006/12/super-volcano-his…

A collection of facts about 535 AD can be found at
http://www.hbci.com/~wenonah/history/535ad.htm

I don't have any reason to expect that there will another huge eruption there any time soon. But, I wish we knew more about geology and had a better idea what to expect.

By Thomas Donlon (not verified) on 03 Aug 2008 #permalink

Iâm off the Jakarta. Heading to krakatoa. It is almost impossible to find any information on the current activity of this volcano. Has any one been there lately or knows a update? Should I postpone my trip?