On Tuesday, March 28, the offspring of Indonesia's infamous Krakatoa volcano erupted several times, sending a massive volcanic ash tower 2,500 meters (8,200 feet) into the sky.
Mount Anak Krakatoa, which means "Child of Krakatoa," erupted four times, the largest followed by another that sent a column of smoke and ash 1,500 meters above its crater, according to officials.
Anak Krakatoa Volcano Erupts
FERDI AWED/AFP via Getty Images
Oktory Prambada, an official at the Center of Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation, told AFP that this is part of an eruption phase associated with the formation of a new body for the volcano, as per Phys.org.
When a major eruption sent huge chunks of the volcano sliding into the ocean in 2018, its crater partially collapsed, triggering a tsunami that killed over 400 people and injured thousands.
On Tuesday, there were no reports of injuries or property damage.
After the series of eruptions, the volcano's alert status remained at the second-highest level, according to Prambada, with authorities imposing a five-kilometer (3.1-mile) exclusion zone around the crater.
Anak Krakatoa, which sits in a strait between the islands of Java and Sumatra, has been sporadically active since it emerged from the sea in the caldera formed by Mount Krakatoa's 1883 eruption.
With an estimated 35,000 people killed, it was one of the deadliest and most destructive disasters in history.
Indonesia, a Southeast Asian archipelago nation, is located on the Pacific Ring of Fire, where continental plates collide, resulting in high volcanic and seismic activity.
Understanding Eruptive Activity And Related Hazards At Krakatau Volcano
Krakatau, in the Sunda Straits in Indonesia, is a well-known example of a tsunami caused by volcanic activity; a classic example is the 1883 eruption, as per the British Geological Survey.
As material was displaced into the surrounding seas, numerous tsunamis formed, with the largest inundating large portions of the Sunda Straits and killing 33 000 people.
Despite the magnitude of the devastation caused by this eruption, the exact mechanism behind the tsunamis remains unknown.
Following the 1883 event, activity at the Krakatau volcanic complex continued, and in 1929, Anak Krakatau (Krakau's "child") emerged from the sea.
The volcano grew over the next 90 years as a result of frequent Strombolian eruptions.
On December 22, 2018, a large portion of the volcano collapsed into the surrounding seas, resulting in another tsunami that impacted large areas of the Sunda Straits, killing 437 people.
The collapse was accompanied by a large eruption that quickly rebuilt the volcano, obscuring much of the evidence.
Last 2022, Indonesia raised the alert level for the Krakatoa volcano's offspring to the second highest level, a day after it erupted and spewed a towering ash cloud 3,000 meters (9,800 feet) into the sky.
Authorities raised the threat of Anak Krakatoa to level three of a four-tier volcanic alert system after a surge in activity over the last month, with the largest eruption occurring on Sunday.
A day after warning nearby residents to wear masks outside due to the large plume of ash it belched over the strait that separates the islands of Java and Sumatra, they widened the exclusion zone around the crater.
