Three Indonesian Volcanoes Show Signs of Increased Activity

Jakarta. The Anak Krakatau volcano located along the Sunda Strait produced 117 small eruptions on Thursday. The sound of the eruptions was audible to the Serang district in Banten, which is 40 kilometers away.

“Anak Krakatau's activities has been escalating since Oct. 27,” said Sikin, a staff member at the Anak Krakatau monitoring post in Cinangka, Serang, as quoted by SCTV on Friday.

According to Sikin, the volcano's status was increased to “be alert,” or two levels before a big eruption, since September. However, the situation is still considered safe for fishermen.

“Fishermen must be cautious and try not to get too close to the mountain and maintain a minimum 4-kilometer distance,” Sikin said.




Increased activity is also building up at the Galunggung volcano in Tasikmalaya, West Java. Heri Supartono, head of the Galunggung monitoring post, said that the volcano had triggered 34 earthquakes this month.

“In September, there were only four volcanic earthquakes, but Galunggung's status is still normal because the water temperature around is still normal,” Heri said.

“We monitor it every day and report the result to the Tasikmalaya municipal government,” he added.

The 2,167-meter high volcano has erupted three times between 1822 and 1983.

Another volcano, Dempo, at Pagaralam, South Sumatra, also showed signs of increased activity.





“There have been tens of volcanic or tectonic earthquakes, but the magnitudes are relatively small so they don't affect the normal status of Demo volcano,” Slamet, the head of Dempo monitoring post, told state news agency Antara on Friday.


Antara, JG