Eruptions of Anak Krakatau coupled with fireballs

Serang, Banten (ANTARA News)- Mt Anak Krakatau in the Sunda Strait on Sunday sent up fireballs coupled with earsplitting bursts for about five minutes.

Juwono of the Mt Anak Krakatau monitoring post in Pasauran village, Cinangka sub-district, Serang regency, on Sunday night reported that the fireball bursts were coupled with very loud explosions and heard up to the Anyer coastal areas.

He said that in the last five days, Anak Krakatau was rather quiet, adding that the earsplitting bursts followed by fireballs was caused by the widening of the craters` cauldron south of the volcano.

For these reasons, Anak Krakatau is still in level-three alert status, so that it would be too dangerous and risky for visitors, including fishermen, to get within a 2-km radius from the active volcano as suggested by the Volcanology and Geology Disaster Mitigation Center, and the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry in Bandung.

The frequency of the eruptions and tremors of Anak Krakatau had been increasing as the result of its crater`s widened cauldron south of the volcano. (*)