PVMBG reported that the eruption at Anak Krakatau intensified at the end of the week during 17-23 January. White steam-and-gas plumes rose as high as 200 m above the summit and drifted NE, E, and S. Strombolian activity was visible in webcam images at 0041, 0043, and 0450 on 23 January. At 0607 and 0701 dense gray ash plumes rose 300 m above summit and drifted E. At 0758, 0759, 0808, and 0928 dense gray-to-black ash plumes rose 200-500 m and drifted SE. Webcam photos showed progressively intensifying Strombolian activity at 1919, 1958, and 2113 on 24 January. A dense gray ash plume rose 300 m and drifted E at 1957. 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)