Indonesia's Anak Krakatau Volcanic Activity Increases to Almost 90 Eruptions Daily

By Jakarta globe

Bandarlampung - Volcanic ash from the increasingly active Anak Krakatau has reached a number of areas in Lampung, prompting officials on Monday to issue a warning for local residents and tourists.

"The ash was carried by wind from the southeast to the south, reaching Bandarlampung," Nurhuda, who heads the observation and information section of the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) in Lampung, said according to state news agency Antara.

Nurhuda said the ash fell over several subdistricts in Bandarlampung, about 130 kilometers away from Anak Krakatau.

"It is rather unusual for the dust to be this thick," said Juniardi, a resident of Bandarlampung who complained that the falling dust was also hampering visibility.

Officials warned that the ask posed health hazards and asked local residents to wear masks when going outdoors or driving motorcycles.

"We also advise fishermen and tourists not to come within a radius of 3 kilometers of Anak Krakatau. The thick plumes of smoke sent off by Krakatau contain toxic material that is hazardous for your health," said Andi Suhardi, head of the Anak Krakatau observation post in Hargo Pancuran village.

A report from the volcanology office in Bandung shows that the activities of Anak Krakatau has been on the rise over the past few days, reaching almost 90 eruptions per day.

Nurhuda said the report showed the volcano spewed red hot lava up to 300 meters above its peak. "More than 100 volcanic quakes and tremors have been recorded," he added.

Anak Krakatau, or child or Krakatau, about 130 kilometers west of Jakarta, was created by the same tectonic forces that led to the 1883 Krakatoa eruption that killed tens of thousands of people.

“Whopping” number of earthquakes shake around Hawaii volcano“

HAWAII VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK, Hawaii: A large number of earthquakes has been rattling the Volcano area on Hawaii Island over the last few days. The quakes have been small, with no damage reported. Still, a handful of those temblors have been 3.0 magnitude and over.

The USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory’s “Recent Earthquakes in Hawaii” page shows a constant swarm of quakes surrounding the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, home of the active Kilauea Volcano. We took a screen grab of the screen of the USGS HVO earthquake page, and it shows the long list stretching all the way back to Friday, June 1st.

16 earthquakes have already registered on the list before noon on Tuesday, Hawaii time.

On Tuesday, the HVO staff makes mention of the quakes on their Kilauea volcano update page:

The GPS network recorded weak extension overall for the past few months with superimposed contraction and extension fluctuations corresponding to DI tilt events. Seismic tremor levels were generally low, decreasing from a peak around 11 am Sunday. A whopping thirty-three earthquakes were strong enough to be located beneath Kilauea volcano: 4 deep earthquakes below the southwest rift zone, 3 beneath the west edge of the summit area, 7 within and below the upper east rift, 1 north of the middle east rift zone, 7 on south flank faults, and 11 mostly shallow long-period (LP) earthquakes within the Koa`e Fault Zone beneath the Kulanaokuaiki Camp Ground; a quick check this morning showed no obvious new cracking on the surface near the campground.

The rise of the Kilauea summit lava lake level in Halemaumau crater continued with several overflows of the inner ledge. At Pu`u `O`o, scientists report lava also rose within the east collapse pit; to the southeast, lava flows continued to advance on the coastal plain.