Anak Krakatau Volcano - UPSC Notes | Testbook.com

An In-depth Look at Anak Krakatau Volcano

Anak Krakatau, translating to “child of Krakatau, ” is the successor of the infamous Krakatau. The massive eruption of Krakatau in 1883 led to a period of global cooling. Krakatau is a caldera located in the Sunda Strait, between the islands of Java and Sumatra, in the Indonesian province of Lampung.

Image source: Indian Express

• Since 2018, Anak Krakatau has been on the second-highest alert level out of four. In May 2023, authorities issued a warning to residents and tourists to maintain a distance of 5 kilometres from the crater.
• The volcanic island is strategically positioned in Indonesia’s Sunda Strait, between the main islands of Java and Sumatra.
• The recent eruption was the longest since the explosive collapse of the mountain, which led to a devastating tsunami in 2018, affecting the coasts of Java and Sumatra.

A Brief on Other Indonesian Volcanoes

• Mount Merapi volcano is located on the boundary of Central Java and Yogyakarta provinces, just 30 km from Yogyakarta city. The mountain was already on the country’s second-highest alert level following the eruptions of 2020. The last significant eruption of Mount Merapi took place in 2010.
• Mount Semeru, another notable volcanic mountain in Indonesia, is also known as “The Great Mountain” and is the highest volcano in Java, standing tall at 3,676m. It is one of the most active volcanoes and last erupted in 2022, resulting in the death of at least 50 people and leaving the streets covered in mud and ash.

These eruptions were followed by a series of earthquakes on the west of Java island, located about 640 km east of Indonesia’s capital Jakarta, including one in May 2023 that claimed the lives of more than 300 people.