In its first eruption on Friday evening, the erupting Mount Anak Krakatau (Child of Krakatoa) sent ash some 657 meters into the air, according to the Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation Center (PVMBG), BNPB Spokesman Agus Wibowo noted in a statement in Jakarta on Saturday.
The column of ash that appeared gray and of moderate to thick intensity tended to drift to the north, he stated, adding that the center's seismograph recorded a 38-minute-and-four-second long eruption of amplitude 40mm.
While drawing reference to the Lampung Selatan Disaster Mitigation Agency's (BPBD's) reports, Wibowo remarked that the local residents of Rajabasa Sub-district in Lampung Selatan District were quoted as saying at 4 a.m. local time that they did not smell sulfur and volcanic ash.
Rains reportedly began lashing the neighborhood areas of Way Mulih, Way Mulih Timur, and Kunjir sub-districts. Local residents who fled their houses also began returning back.
"However, several of them remain cautious of the situation," he stated.
The volcano’s alert status was at level II, or caution. The Lampung Selatan Disaster Mitigation Agency’s personnel have appealed to locals to stay calm since Mount Anak Krakatau's volcanic activities had subsided.
As of Saturday morning, no reports of damages were received following the eruption, but local military and police personnel remained on standby to assist the authorities of villages and sub-districts, he stated.
The volcano has repeatedly erupted over the past years.
On Dec 31, 2019, the volcano in Sunda Strait also erupted, emitting a nearly one thousand-meter-high ash column into the air.
The Center for Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation (PVMBG) of the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry observed a column of thick gray-to-black ash billowing out of the volcano and reaching as high as one thousand meters from its crater, or 1,157 meters above sea level, when the volcano erupted at 6:51 a.m. local time.
The seismogram recorded the eruption, with a maximum amplitude of 44 millimeters and a duration of one minutes, 33 seconds, according to the center's statement.
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Translator: Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Sri Haryati
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