Report on Krakatau (Indonesia) — 26 October-1 November 2022
Smithsonian Institution / US Geological Survey
Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 26 October-1 November 2022
Managing Editor: Sally Sennert.
Please cite this report as:
Global Volcanism Program, 2022. Report on Krakatau (Indonesia) (Sennert, S, ed.). Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 26 October-1 November 2022. Smithsonian Institution and US Geological Survey.
Krakatau
Indonesia
6.1009°S, 105.4233°E; summit elev. 285 m
All times are local (unless otherwise noted)
PVMBG reported that multiple ash plumes were visible in webcam images rising from Anak Krakatau during 26-28 October. Dense gray ash plumes rose as high as 300 m above the summit and drifted NE at 0949 on 26 October, 1205 on 27 October, and 0438 and 1502 on 28 October. Eruptive events were also recorded at 1838 on 26 October, 1955 on 27 October, and 0438 on 28 October, though were not visually confirmed. The Alert Level remained at 3 (on a scale of 1-4), and the public was warned to stay at least 5 km away from the crater.
Geological Summary. The renowned Krakatau (frequently mis-named as Krakatoa) volcano lies in the Sunda Strait between Java and Sumatra. Collapse of an older edifice, perhaps in 416 or 535 CE, formed a 7-km-wide caldera. Remnants of that volcano are preserved in Verlaten and Lang Islands; subsequently the Rakata, Danan, and Perbuwatan cones were formed, coalescing to create the pre-1883 Krakatau Island. Caldera collapse during the catastrophic 1883 eruption destroyed Danan and Perbuwatan, and left only a remnant of Rakata. This eruption caused more than 36,000 fatalities, most as a result of tsunamis that swept the adjacent coastlines of Sumatra and Java. Pyroclastic surges traveled 40 km across the Sunda Strait and reached the Sumatra coast. After a quiescence of less than a half century, the post-collapse cone of Anak Krakatau (Child of Krakatau) was constructed within the 1883 caldera at a point between the former Danan and Perbuwatan cones. Anak Krakatau has been the site of frequent eruptions since 1927.
Source: Pusat Vulkanologi dan Mitigasi Bencana Geologi (PVMBG, also known as CVGHM)