Krakatau Ash Plume Reaches 9,000 Feet, Advisory Issued

There is a particular restlessness that defines the volcano known as Anak Krakatau—a name that means "Child of Krakatau," and that carries with it the memory of one of the most catastrophic eruptions in recorded history. The child has been active again. On Monday, the Volcanic Ash Advisory Center in Darwin issued an advisory warning that an ash plume from Krakatau had risen to an estimated 9,000 feet, or flight level 090, moving northwest at five knots . The advisory was based on satellite imagery from Himawari-9 and a ground report of an eruption at 13:13 UTC .

The volcano, located in the Sunda Strait between the Indonesian islands of Java and Sumatra, has been in a state of nearly continuous activity for weeks. In September, Anak Krakatau erupted for 25 hours without pause, blanketing cities in volcanic ash and prompting multiple airports to close. More than 300,000 passengers were left stranded . The eruption also had a human cost beyond the disruption: five journalists on a mission to cover the event were declared presumed dead, along with three boat crew members, after their vessel disappeared without trace .

What makes Anak Krakatau particularly significant is its lineage. The original Krakatau volcano produced a cataclysmic eruption in 1883 that killed an estimated 35,000 people, largely through the tsunamis that followed. The volcano itself collapsed into a caldera. Anak Krakatau emerged from that caldera decades later, beginning with brief appearances starting in 1927 and forming a permanent island in 1930 . It has been erupting periodically ever since, and in 2018, a flank collapse triggered a tsunami that killed 429 people .

The current activity has produced a visible change in the landscape. Satellite imagery from the European Space Agency's Sentinel fleet has revealed two new island formations in the waters surrounding Anak Krakatau—one about 760 meters northwest of the volcano, the other about 495 meters southwest. Rita Susilawati of Indonesia's Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation said it was too early to call them "children" of Anak Krakatau, and that further research is needed to determine whether they are emerging from the caldera base or are simply deposits of volcanic material. They may, like earlier landmasses in the same area, erode away over time .

Authorities have maintained a level 2 alert—the second lowest on a four-tier scale—and advised people to stay at least three kilometers from the eruption center . The advisory issued Monday is the latest in a series that has tracked the volcano's ash output since the September eruptions. The child of Krakatau continues to breathe, and the world continues to watch.

AI Image Disclaimer: The images accompanying this article were generated by artificial intelligence and are for illustrative purposes only.

Sources: Volcano Discovery, Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, LRT, Roya News