New cracks on Anak Krakatau volcano might cause landslides

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Indonesia's meteorology and geophysics agency has found new cracks at the Anak Krakatau volcano in Sunda Strait, which has the potential to culminate in landslides when strong tremors occur during an eruption, said an agency official.

The volcano's eruption on Dec. 22 triggered underwater landslides that resulted in a tsunami, killing over 400 people along the coast of the strait.

Head of the agency Dwikorita Karnawati revealed on Wednesday that long narrow spaces between parts of the volcano were detected through photographs shot from the air at the southward end of the crater.

Lava streams down from Anak Krakatau (Child of Krakatoa) volcano during an eruption as seen from Rakata island in South Lampung on July 19, 2018. /VCG Photo

"The eruption activities have scaled down, but the volcano's alert level remains at the second highest," she was quoted by local media on Wednesday.

The tsunami at the end of last year devastated provinces of Banten and Lampung, leaving a total of more than 40,000 people injured and a total of 2,752 houses damaged, as well as a total of 510 ships destroyed, according to the national disaster management agency.

The tidal waves rattled a 312.75 km long of the coastal area of the strait, according to the meteorology and geophysics agency.

This picture taken with a long exposure shows lighting bolts striking along the Sunda Strait between the Indonesian islands of Java and Sumatra in Rajabasa, in Lampung province, three days after a tsunami caused by activity by Anak Krakatau hit the west coast of Indonesia's Java island, December 25, 2018. /VCG Photo‍

Since July, Anak Krakatau volcano has experienced "a strombolian" eruption type, meaning that the volcanic activity produces a frequent moderate eruption, according to volcanologists.

The agency has issued a warning to stay away from the coastal areas along the Sunda Strait with no-go-zone of one km from the coast for fear of a second tsunami.

Anak Krakatau is one of the 129 active volcanoes in Indonesia, a vast nation home to 17,500 islands, which sits on a vulnerable quake-hit zone so called "the Pacific Ring of Fire."

Source(s): Xinhua News Agency