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Indonesia tsunami: fresh alert for Anak Krakatau volcano as eruptions continue Indonesia authorities raise Anak Krakatau volcano threat level
(about 2 hours later)
Indonesia has raised the danger level for a volcano that triggered a tsunami over the weekend, which killed at least 430 people in Sumatra and Java, and widened its no-go zone. Authorities in Indonesia have raised the danger level for the volcano that triggered a tsunami on Saturday, killing hundreds of people, and extended the no-go zone to three miles.
The country’s volcanology agency said on Thursday the Anak Krakatau volcano’s alert status had been raised to the second-highest level and the exclusion zone more than doubled to a three-mile radius. Flights around the Anak Krakakau volcano were rerouted and the crater’s status was raised to high alert, the second-highest level.
The eruption on Saturday night caused part of the island volcano in the Sunda Strait to collapse into the sea, which in turn is believed to have generated tsunami waves of more than 2 metres (6.5 feet). Most tsunamis are caused by earthquakes. Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, a spokesman for the national disaster agency, said: “There is a danger of more eruptions. People [near the volcano] could be hit by hot rocks, pyroclastic flows and thick ash.”
Indonesia tsunami: coastline still under threat amid fresh volcanic activity People are being moved away from Sumur on the island of Java, which was badly affected by the tsunami and was one of the last areas to be accessed by rescue teams.
The government has warned Sunda Strait communities to stay at least a kilometre away from the coastline because of the risk of another tsunami triggered by Krakatau’s ongoing eruptions. Aulia Arriani with the Indonesian Red Cross said: “The restless mountain is making life unpleasant. I met a woman today who said having the volcanic ash around was like having chilli rubbed in her eyes.”
“There’s still a chance of a landslide, even under the sea level or on the sea level,” said Rudy Sunendar, the head of the energy ministry’s geology department. “We don’t know exactly because we are not yet gone to the field” due to bad weather, he said at the volcano’s monitoring post. “Based on the satellite imagery interpretation, there is collapse of some area of Mount Anak Krakatau.” People have been told to stay at least 1km (0.6 miles) from the coast in areas affected by the tsunami, which killed at least 430 people and displaced more than 20,000.
Saturday’s disaster struck without warning in a country that regularly experiences landslides, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. No earthquake activity had been felt beforehand, and the waves surged inland at night on a holiday weekend while many people were enjoying concerts and other beach and resort activities. Rudy Sunendar, the head of the Indonesian energy ministry’s geology department, said: “There’s still a chance of a landslide, even under the sea level or on the sea level.
Indonesia’s tsunami warning system relies on land seismometers and buoys connected to tidal gauges and is not equipped to detect underwater landslides. The system, in any case, has not operated for years because the buoys have been vandalised or not maintained because of low funding. “We don’t know exactly because we [have] not yet gone to the field. Based on the satellite imagery interpretation, there is collapse of some areas of Mount Anak Krakatau.”
Heavy rains and high seas have hampered the search for victims. Some bodies were found at sea and at least 159 people are missing. Huge waves hit the west coast of Java island and the south coast of Sumatra on Saturday, created by land shifting under water on the volcano. On Thursday, Sutopo urged those in the area to “remain calm and increase awareness” by taking heed of official information sources.
On Thursday, residents of badly-affected Banten province in Java were searching the debris of destroyed or damaged homes for anything salvageable. “I’ve lost everything I have, my house and all belongings inside it,” said a local farmer, Muhamad Sarta. Earlier this week, the Indonesian Red Cross said its aid work in Banten province, one of the worst-affected areas, was being hampered by people becoming “jittery” due to rumours about further waves hitting.
“I just hope for some help from the government. Hopefully there will be some repairs. I have nowhere to go. I have no money. Whatever I had was lost in the water.” A mosque in the area falsely announced that huge waves were arriving, causing panicking people to flee to higher ground.
Radar data from satellites, converted into images, shows the Anak Krakatau volcano shrank dramatically following Saturday’s eruption. Many people with missing family members have been submitting DNA samples to hospitals to see if they match those taken from bodies found but not yet identified.
Satellite photos were not available because of cloud cover but radar images from a Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency satellite, taken before and after the eruption, show much of the volcano’s south-western flank had gone. Tubagus Cecep, 63, said he feared for his missing son. “They found a body, a pile of bags and my son’s shoes,” he said. “I’m still waiting for the body to be identified. We don’t know yet if it was him.”
JAXA’s post-eruption image shows concentric waves radiating from the island, which experts say is caused by ongoing eruptions. Arriani said: “Many thousands of people are still living in neighbours’ houses or on higher ground. Some are sleeping in mosques with no windows or doors, so they get cold at night. Yesterday’s localised flooding drained, but it’s a wait-and-see situation.”
Dave Petley, the head of research and innovation at Sheffield University, who analysed similar images from a European Space Agency satellite, said they support the theory that a landslide, most of it undersea, caused the tsunami. The disaster struck without warning in a country that regularly experiences landslides, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. No earthquake activity had been felt beforehand, and the waves surged inland at night on a holiday weekend while many people were enjoying concerts or other beach and resort activities.
‘Destruction gets more likes’: Indonesia’s tsunami selfie-seekers Radar data from satellites, converted into images, showed the Anak Krakatau volcano shrank dramatically following the eruption, Associated Press reported.
“The challenge now is to interpret what might be happening on the volcano, and what might happen next,” he wrote in a blog. Satellite photos were not available because of cloud cover, but radar images from a Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency satellite, taken before and after the eruption, showed much of the volcano’s south-western flank had gone.
Anak Krakatau, which means child of Krakatau, is the offspring of the infamous Krakatau volcano that affected the global climate with a massive eruption in 1883. It rose above sea level in 1929, according to Indonesia’s volcanology agency, and has been increasing its land mass since then. Jaxa’s post-eruption image showed concentric waves radiating from the island, which experts say is caused by continuing eruptions.
Dave Petley, the vice-president for research and innovation at Sheffield University, who analysed similar images from a European Space Agency satellite, said they supported the theory that a landslide, most of it undersea, caused the tsunami. “The challenge now is to interpret what might be happening on the volcano, and what might happen next,” he wrote in a blog.
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