"The haze is still heading east to Banten, the 6000 meters high grey haze also consisted of volcanic ashes," the local Mount`s monitoring post chief, Anton S Pambudi, said here Sunday.
Anton confirmed that the ashes from mount Anak Krakatau was dangerous as it is carrying angerous hot materials and debris.
"The debris can heat up to 600 degree Celsius and very dangerous for body contact," Anton said
Despite the fact that the seismic activity could not be monitored, The Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation Center (PVMBG) in Bandung, West Java, had yet to lower the status from level II (alert) to level I (actively normal).
"The mountain`s seismic activity has yet to be monitored by a solar panel on the seismo-meter which malfunctioned after being covered by a thick layer of volcanic ashes from the mountain in the Sunda strait," Anton said.
PVMBG was still discouraging people, including tourists to get close to the mountain within a radius of two kilometers.
"We have not lowered the Anak Krakatau`s status and people are still discouraged to get near to the danger zone," he said.
Due to the mountain`s seismic activity, several Banten residents from Cilegon, Serang and Pandeglang areas expressed their fear of the volcanic ashes that had been falling in their residential areas.(*)
Editor: Ruslan Burhani
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